SUSAN MARGARET PORTER

1955 - 2022

PORTER, SUSAN MARGARET January 8, 1955 – June 21, 2022 Susan Margaret Porter passed away unexpectedly at her home on Berkeley Street, Toronto, on the summer solstice, June 21, 2022. She was 67 years young. Adopted by Margaret and Russell Porter at 6 months, she was raised in Toronto, where she attended high school. She held her parents in very high esteem, devoting her life to caring for them. Susan is survived by her parents; her brother, Russ Porter; his wife, Doreen; and their daughter, Lynn. Susan's first marriage at 19 was soon eclipsed when she met Andre Leduc, a successful west-end photographer, 12 years her senior. They were married in 1981. She was 26. Not only his wife, she was also his business partner taking charge of the administration and financial aspects of their photographic studio. Their marriage eventually ended but the friendship, love and regard never did. He had encouraged her to follow her dreams. From her early teenage years, she had loved singing. Andre persuaded her to enroll in a continuing education program at Central Tech, where her vocal talent was recognized by Guiseppe Macina. By 1985, she was part of the Toronto Opera Repertoire as a mezzo soprano, evolving under the tutelage of Bill and Dixie Neil into a dramatic soprano. By 1988, she had realized her dreams and become an international opera star. She performed as Amneris in Aida in Paris at an outdoor venue to an audience of 14,000 people. She sang Tosca and Aida across Germany and in Prague, Czechoslovakia. She was with the Rome Opera Company, as a principal understudy in their production of Tosca in Japan. She sang in Taipei, Taiwan. Her 1994 performance as Amneris in Aida at Luxor, Egypt for the Cairo Opera Company was attended by Omar Shariff, who later toasted her at the gala reception. Susan starred in the 1996 Canadian premiere of L'Amore dei tre re in Victoria, BC and sang with Paul Plishka of the Canadian Opera Company at the O'Keefe Centre in Toronto. By 1998, she had stopped auditioning and performing professionally when, as she then said, "I realized I had gone as far as I could". As she drew her singing career to a close, she traded in her connections to the artistic world of performance to re-invent herself as executive assistant to the president of Actra Fraternal Pension Fund and corporate secretary to the board. Her exemplary technical, organizational and people skills made her an invaluable asset to her fellow workers. She left Actra Fraternal in 2002 with a golden handshake to pursue another dream of operating a bed and breakfast in Hamilton. Unfortunately, her muse turned out to be a mountebank and that dream became a nightmare. She returned to Toronto and restarted her administrative career as corporate secretary to the Sponsor's Board at OMERS Pension Fund in 2006. In 2014, she left OMERS to volunteer her time and administrative skills at the Ontario Wildlife Centre in Downsview. Then, once again reinvented herself as a legal transcription service, providing court transcripts for lawyers and judges. Not content to be just a cog in the wheel, she became an advocate for that profession, speaking out with suggestions to improve the technical quality of the recordings in Ontario's court rooms. When one door closed, she opened another one. She was not discouraged or defeated by the challenge of adversity. She was an intelligent, resourceful and empathetic woman, always willing to help and make a contribution to the lives of those around her. She was a perfectionist. She was not only meticulous to a fault but compassionate to a fault. She could be gregarious and outgoing at times, but at heart she was a very private person who was not boastful of her talents and success or self-pitying of her personal struggles in life and love. She made the best of what she had and where she was and moved on with no regrets. Susan was not a teetotaller. She loved her Scotch, an occasional beer, her cigarettes and her sensual pleasures. She was not ashamed of her vices, nor was she judgemental of others. Although firmly rooted in Toronto, she lived for many months in Germany and a year in Rome. Her operatic career and training had given her a fluency in French, Italian and German, along with a network of international friends. She was a woman of the world, a diva from the "Belle Époque" born out of time and place. The overwhelming passion of her later life was her love for animals. She lived with a cat, Nia, and 2 dogs, Rocky and Maddy. She cared for them as if they were her own children. Walking her dogs every day, she was a presence on Berkeley Street, well known, highly regarded in the neighbourhood and now much missed. Her life was cut tragically short but it was a life of dreams, travel, adventure, accomplishments and love. Hers was a stellar performance in a life well-lived with courage, humility and grace. Brava Susan! Brava, Brava.........Brava! There will be a celebration of remembrance for Susan at her home on Berkeley Street in September. Consult Aftercare.com for details.