Harold Porter

MINOT -- Harold Porter, 80, Minot, whose business

and humanitarian interests were known statewide,

died unexpectedly June 29, 1997, in Medora. He and

his wife, Edith, were attending the Medora Musical

when he was stricken.

Mr. Porter spent a lifetime in a Minot-based

family business that began modestly enough in the

1920s when he and his three brothers started

supporting the family by selling furs and wool,

eventually going into iron and steel. In time and

through their acquired business acumen, their

business dealings extended beyond the city and

state, expanding worldwide. Eventually, Mr.

Porter's son, Gary, now chairman of the North

Dakota Republican Party, became part of the

business operation.

While Porter Brothers was sold in July 1989 to MRM

Steel Ltd., Selkirk, Manitoba, Harold Porter

continued to maintain other property interests,

including the Minot store that houses Porter

Brothers Fur and Leather Center.

He also retained a lively interest in everything

that is Minot, his involvement reflected in years

of active service on countless boards and in

support of the arts. While much of his known

humanitarianism sprang from these activities,

there was more humanity and charity to the man

than most people knew. He worked to keep that part

of his life private, eschewing the attention that

often is focused on people for their good works,

preferring a lifestyle that was devoid of

ostentation. In truth, the telephone and the

privacy it afforded him was his lifeline, and he

honed its use to a fine art.

Some organizations, however, refused to allow him

to escape recognition. The Minot Sertoma Club

presented him the club's Service to Mankind Award

in 1985. In 1987, the State Bar Association of

North Dakota named him the recipient of that

year's Liberty Bell Award, the highest honor given

to a non-lawyer for community service. In his

case, the award was for his work in aiding the

community development of character and good

citizenship in young people in Minot and around

the state.

He had received the Silver Beaver rating and Good

Citizen Award from the Boy Scouts of America, the

YMCA Man of the Year Award, the Paul Harris Fellow

Award and the Good Service Award that are bestowed

by the Minot Rotary Club. In September, he was

scheduled to be ``roasted'' by the North Dakota

Affiliate of the American Diabetes Association, an

annual fund-raising event held in Minot.

For years, working with Patrick Cook and George

Hawley, both now deceased, he labored to establish

the Minot Vocational Workshop. He served on the

YMCA Board for 35 years, beginning in 1948, and

was a contributor to various of its activities,

including the Triangle Y Camp. For many years, he

also was on the boards or was an officer of

Trinity Medical Center, Midwest Federal Savings

and Loan Association, the Minot Salvation Army,

the Ward County Historical Society and the Board

of Regents at Minot State University.

He was president of the Minot Hebrew Congregation,

active in B'nai B'rith, a Jewish international

service organization, served on the Board of

Governors of District 6 of that organization and

supported the Anti-Defamation League.

When he was presented Sertoma's Service to Mankind

Award, he was described as ``a man for all

seasons.'' He was nominated for that award by club

member Maurice Metzger, who, in listing Mr.

Porter's qualifications for the honor, observed:

``In all the years that Harold Porter has been in

business, he has always employed the

underprivileged, the minorities, the handicapped,

refugees that couldn't even speak English. Not

only were these people given jobs, but Harold

Porter often found housing for them and assisted

them with personal and family needs.''

He was born July 10, 1916, at Russell, a son of

Harry and Mary Porter, and was raised and educated

in the Russell and Eckman areas. He remained on

the family farm with his widowed mother, who had

six children. The family moved to Minot in the

1920s, and in 1928, he and his brothers formed

their business partnership.

He married Edith Shavers, Feb. 9, 1948, at

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They since have lived

in Minot.

She survives, along with two sons and

daughters-in-law, Gary and Sherrie, Minot, and

David and Gail, St. Louis; one daughter and

son-in-law, Carol Ann and Daniel Berlin, Teaneck,

N.J.; seven grandchildren; one brother, Zalmon,

Pasadena, Calif.; and one sister, Celia Rodstein,

Los Angeles.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his

brothers, Louis and Archie; and a sister, Esther

Snyder.

His funeral will be held at 11 a.m. today at

Temple Beth Israel, Minot, with burial in Minot

Hebrew Cemetery. (Thompson-Larson Funeral Home,

Minot)