J. W. Porter Obituary Dr. J. W. Porter Dies Suddenly, September 7, 1937
Pastor Of Immanuel Church, Lexington, Kentucky, passes away at his residence.
Dr. John William Porter, 74 years old, pastor of Immanuel Baptist church, editor and author, died suddenly at his residence, 189 Kentucky Avenue, at 9:45 o’clock last night as the result of a heart ailment. Dr. Porter, for 13 years pastor of Immanuel Baptist church, was born in Fayette county, Tennessee, on August 8, 1863, the son of the late John Freeman and Martha Carolina Tharp Porter.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Lillian Thomas Porter; three daughters, Mrs. Martha Porter Willis, Mrs. Mary Porter Rowe and Miss Blanche Porter, all of Lexington; two sons, J. W. Porter, Jr. of Lexington, and Russell Porter, of Maysville; two brothers, Eston and Aubrey Porter, the latter of Memphis, Tenn.; two sisters, Mrs. Pearl McKenzie, of Memphis Tenn., and Mrs. Grace Porter Sale, of Jacksonville, Fla., and four grandchildren, Maurice Porter Willis, James R. Willis, Kenneth T. Willis and Perry T. Rowe, Jr. all of Lexington.
Dr. Porter, apparently in the best of health, attended an all-day meeting of the Elkhorn Baptist Association yesterday at the Porter Memorial church on South Limestone street. Last night he preached a sermon from the pulpit of the Porter Memorial which church was named in his honor. Shortly after returning home, he complained of a pain in his chest. A doctor was called, and shortly after the physician arrived Dr. Porter died.
Dr. Porter was a graduate of Lebanon Law School; where he received his PhD. degree. He practiced law for a time before entering the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary of Louisville, where he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He also received several honorary degrees during his career as a pastor.
Before coming to Lexington 30 years ago (1917) to assume the pastorate of the First Baptist church, he was pastor of churches in Crestwood, Maysville and LeGrange, Ky., being instrumental in the creation of a church at the latter city.
He came to Lexington from Newport News, Va., where he was pastor for seven years.
Dr. Porter was pastor of the First Baptist church here for 14 years. It was his first pastorate in Lexington. During this time, he was instrumental in the construction of the present First Baptist church, at that time the largest in the South. He also was editor of the Western Recorder, Baptist magazine, during his pastorate there. He was accorded one of the highest honors during this pastorate, being named to make the introductory sermon at the Southern Baptist convention.
Dr. Porter left Lexington to assume the pastorate of the Third Avenue Baptist church in Louisville, a post he held for three years before returning to Lexington to become pastor of the Immanuel Baptist church.
It was while he was at the First Baptist church that the Porter Memorial church, named for him, was built. He started a mission to raise the money for the construction of the edifice, which was the first of several such missions conducted by him.
Dr. Porter has written several books on denominational subjects as well as numerous papers. He was a former president of the Anti-Saloon League of America, was a member of the executive board of the Anti-Evolution League and was widely known as an evangelist and lecturer. He was a trustee of Georgetown College.
Dr. Porter was the oldest pastor in term of years of service to occupy a pulpit in Lexington.
Dr. Porter’s last sermon to his congregation Sunday night was on the subject, “Nearing the End”.
============ [From findagrave.com/memorial. Scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall.]
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