Robin Porter with son Larry.
It is with great sadness that the Easton community says good-bye to Robin Porter, father of the Porter brothers, Larry, Kenny and Jeff who
own Porters Pub in Easton. But the family would like to invite the community to services on Monday, April 11th, with a receiving line at the Ashton Funeral Home at 1337 Northampton Street from 3-5pm, and a life celebration from 6-8pm at Bank Street Annex afterward.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Easton Main Street Initiative (if you would like to make a donation, in Robin's memory, click here). Under "Designate my donation" enter "Easton Main Street Initiative" and under "In memory of" enter Robin Porter. Checks can also be sent made payable to:
GREATER EASTON DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP
158 Northampton Street
Easton, PA 18042
(enter "Easton Main Street Initiative in memory of Robin Porter" on the memo of the check)
I only met Robin a handful of times, but I was always really happy to see him because he had a way of engaging you in a meaningful conversation amidst whatever hubbub was going on, and I think this ability to reach out and connect meaningfully with new people in one's community is a bit of a lost art--and what our community needs most. As you can read in Ed Sieger's article in the Express-Times, Robin and his family have had a far reaching affect on our city over the years since they arrived that most residents don't realize. Many of the best places in town, if you connect the dots, lead back in some way to Robin Porter and his extended family...Connexions, Porters Pub, Pearly Baker's (through Robin's wife, Pat), Easton Yoga (through Pat's daughter, Alicia), Bank Street Annex, the renovated schoolhouse apartments on N. 7th Street in the West Ward...the list goes on...when it comes to preservation, curing blight, and stimulating the local economy, there are few families that have done as much for this city in the last few decades through their own hard work and investment than the Porters. As mentioned at the groundbreaking ceremony the other day, by both Mayor Panto and Rep. Bob Freeman, Robin Porter will be greatly missed in this community. I am not surprised at all that donations are going to the Easton Main Street Initiative in memory of a man that cared so much for Easton.
Any readers who knew Robin are encouraged to post comments, stories, and well wishes for the family here...
Posts
4 comments:
Sal Panto says:
We will be lowering the Easton flag in Centre Square on Monday morning at 8:45 in honor of Robin Porter. All are welcome to attend. The flag will remain lowered until his memorial services are over ---- Tuesday morning.
Thanks, Mayor, for posting to let us know.
Robin was a guy who you could count on to give you the straight scoop. In my earlier days of civic activism he supplied me with a lot of behind-the-scenes information that I otherwise would not have had and made my job much easier.
He was also always willing to have a conversation about whatever was bugging me, provide perspective and most of all encouragement to keep doing what I was doing.
He'll be remembered fondly.
DRL
I went to the services yesterday, and it was really moving to see how many people from the community turned out (it must have been at least 200 people) and to hear so many stories about a man so dedicated to Easton. The long-reaching effect this man and his family have had and continue to have on this town is profound. And as they are clearly such a tight-knit extended family, I can only imagine that that will continue for a very long time--Easton is lucky that Robin Porter, of all the places in the world he could have chosen, chose this place as home.
Robin's son, Jeff, got up to speak at one point, and said the most beautiful thing--that his dad was an avid gardener, and that gardening was actually a metaphor for everything he did in life--that he was always planting seeds--introducing people to each other, encouraging people to act on their ideas and nurture them to fruition--planting seeds through his family and community all around town that turned into thriving businesses that are now social hubs for connection in our community.
Robin's extended family continues to plant those seeds, and we need all the good gardeners we can get in this town. I think that Robin's passing will serve as an inspiration to all the "gardeners" in town, and that his influence will continue to bloom here for a long, long time.
Post a Comment