"Well done, good and faithful servant. .. Come and share in your master's happiness." Matthew 25:23. Those who knew Dr. Walter L. Porter will agree that he heard those words from his Lord Jesus when he met him face to face. Dr. Walt Porter died at his home the evening of December 17, 2014 at the age of 77. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Gunter & Peel Funeral Home. Visitation will be Monday, December 22, 2014 at First United Methodist Church from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM. The service will follow in the historic sanctuary at 3:00 PM. Dr. Embra Jackson will officiate, assisted by Rev. Sandra Brown, and Rev Raigan Miskelly. Interment will follow in Friendship Cemetery. He was born in Buechel, KY, on November 17, 1937, the eldest child of Alice Renegar and Chester Nolan Porter. During his high school years, Dr. Porter displayed talents for music and athletics. He was a track-and-field athlete as well as a trumpeter in the Kentucky All-State Band. Dr. Porter, who worked as a counselor and Methodist minister for most of his life, was well known in the Columbus community. Porter also worked as a college professor at Mississippi State University and Mississippi University for Women where he taught courses in psychology. Dr. Porter's greatest legacy was in the lives he touched as a minister at the many churches he served, as a counselor through his alcohol and drug rehab company, Landmark, or his counseling ministry the Shepherd's Touch, at First United Methodist Church, or just as a sweet, gentle friend. He was a Diplomate in Pastoral Counseling and taught Clinical Pastoral Education to ministers. Dr. Porter first went to school to learn about the earth, earning his BS in Agriculture from University of Kentucky, then went back to learn about God, earning a Master's of Theology from Garrett Theological Seminary, and finished by learning about people, completing a Doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology from The University of Southern Mississippi. He loved to say that once he covered those categories, he knew it all. But he never stopped learning. He had an inexhaustible intellectual curiosity. He believed in the interconnectedness of spirit, mind, body and the universe. Spirituality and quantum physics were blended in his theology. A true Renaissance man, Dr. Porter also enjoyed music, woodworking, camping, biking, and motorcycling. He played trumpet with the MSU Community Band, and was a member of the Exchange Club and Lion's Club. Dr. Porter is survived by his wife, Karen Graham Porter, his children: Debi Lewis (Kevin) of Flowood, Kristi Carrico of St. Louis, MO, Dr. Steve Porter (Dona) of Columbus, Laura Beth Berry (Duke) of Columbus, Heidi Sarnecki (Philip) of Kansas City, KS, Ashley Johnson (Jay) of Birmingham, and Lindsey Miller (Chad) of Greenville, SC. He is also survived by 20 grandchildren, and his sisters Dr. Eleanor Pershing (Don) of Frankfort, IN and Virginia Au(Rev. Jerry) of Mt. Washington, KY. Memorials may be sent to the Shepherd's Touch Counseling Center % First United Methodist Church P.O. Box 32 Columbus, MS 39703 The Good Samaritan Medical Clinic P.O. Box 661 Columbus, MS 39703
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