Obituary of William Forrest Porterfield

William Forrest “Bill” Porterfield died peacefully at home on December 4, 2017. Bill was born on September 19, 1932 in Northern Orange County. He was the son of William Herman Porterfield and Eva Taylor Porterfield. He graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1950. In February 1951 he began a 39 year career with Western Electric-AT&T. Bill was promoted to Installation Supervisor, a position he held until his retirement in December 1989. Bill spent 4 years in the USCG, from 1952-1956 where he attained the rank of ET1. He spent his last year in the USCG in Alaska.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Betty Lou Allison Porterfield. They have three children, William Dennis Porterfield, (Diane) of Haw River, David Alan Porterfield, (Veronica) of Youngsville, and Denise Porterfield Ashworth, (Paul) of Cary, and three grandchildren, Taylor (Ann Marie), Forrest, and Sarah Ashworth. He is also survived by sisters, Betsy Parker (David) of Mebane and Kay Parker (Gene) of Hurdle Mills.

Upon retirement Bill did volunteer work for several years with the Telephone Pioneers, Habitat for Humanity, and the North Carolina Library for the Blind. Bill was a Life Member of Raleigh Elks Lodge #735. Bill and Betty loved to travel and in his first year of retirement they purchased a small RV and drove the Al-Can highway to Alaska.They spent the summer there and returned via the Alaska Ferry System. They have driven in all 50 states and all but one of the Canadian provinces. They also enjoyed taking cruises

The service celebrating Bill’s life will be held at Walker’s Funeral Home Chapel in Hillsborough on Friday, December 8 at 1 PM. Burial will follow at Walnut Grove UMC, 7215 Walnut Grove Church Rd., Hurdle Mills, NC 27541. There will be a visitation from 7:00-9:00 PM on Thursday, December 7 at Walker’s Funeral Home in Hillsborough.