Obituary of Thomas Patrick Porter

Thomas Patrick Porter, a resident of Southern Pines, North Carolina for the past sixteen years and formerly of Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, passed away on March 14, 2022. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey on April 17, 1938, Tom leaves behind his wife of sixty-three years, Virginia Porter, and their eight children, eleven grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.

Tom was a graduate of Sacred Heart High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Seton Hall University. He taught at St. Peter’s Parochial School in Point Pleasant Beach and, later, History at Point Pleasant Boro High School, where he also coached basketball. Afterward, he owned the Point Pleasant Garden Center in Point Pleasant for thirty-six years. He was an active member of his local Rotary Club and briefly served as a Point Pleasant Beach town council member.

An ordained Deacon of the Roman Catholic Church, Tom served as the Catholic chaplain for East Jersey State Prison in Rahway, New Jersey for several years, and later at Saint Joseph of the Pines, an assisted living facility in Southern Pines, North Carolina. He also served as a Deacon at Saint Peter’s Catholic Church in Point Pleasant Beach and again at Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Southern Pines. In these ministries Tom touched many lives through his faith, humor, and generosity. All who knew him held him in high esteem both personally and professionally.

Tom is preceded in death by his parents, Ralph and Mary Porter, as well as his siblings, Ralph Porter and Mary Anne Lyons. In addition to his wife, Virginia, Tom is survived by their daughters:  Jill Herman (Thomas); Beth Gaddis (Len); Cynthia McCarthy; Amy Gabriel (Brian); Christy Millar (John); Alison Spencer (Doug); Meghan Porter; and son Thomas Porter. His eleven grandchildren include Sean, Kate, and Aedan Herman; Grace, Christopher, and Virginia McCarthy; Alice Gaddis; Ana and John Paul Spencer; and Gabrielle and Harry Millar. His great grandchildren are Harper and Hayes Herman. His surviving siblings include Elizabeth Russamanno (Frank); Theresa Wilson (Robert); Richard Porter (Carol); and Kathleen Jobes (Karl). Tom also leaves behind several beloved nieces and nephews.

Memorial visitation will be from 4 – 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 23 at the Pable Evertz Funeral Home of Point Pleasant, 901 Beaver Dam Road.  At 11 a.m., Thursday, March 24 a Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated at Saint Peter R.C. Church, 406 Forman Ave. (corner of Saint Louis Ave.) Point Pleasant Beach, followed by inurnment at Greenwood Cemetery, Brielle.

The family requests that those who wish to remember Tom make a donation to Feeling Swell Foundation at 2110 Main Street, Suite 303, Santa Monica, CA 90405 in lieu of flowers.

For online condolences to the family please visit www.pableevertzfuneralhome.com