Born to W. M. and Grover Ethel Porter at Brownsboro, Texas on April 3, 1923, R. A. "Bob" Porter was an 18-year high school senior and at Inks Dam, Austin on Dec. 7, 1941.

He enlisted as an Apprentice Seaman in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1942 at Fort Worth. Most of his service time was with Coast Guard stations at Boston, Mass., and Los Angeles, Calif., aboard the Coast Guard cutter, Hermes.

After five years and three months of Coast Guard duty, Porter received his discharge in 1947 at New Orleans, La., with the rank of Radioman First Class.

Porter came to Palacios in 1949, to work for the Federal Aviation Administration at the Palacios Airport.

He and his first wife, the former Ellie Ida Smith, whom he met in Galveston, became the parents of three sons, R.A. Porter, Jr., of DeSoto, Tx., an electrical engineer; E. D. "Dale" Porter, Palacios businessman (Ace Hardware); and J. G. "Jimmy" Porter of Palacios, an electrician; and one daughter, Melissa Carpenter of Palacios, a nurse.

Porter later married Mildred Richardson of his hometown of Brownsboro, becoming the stepfather to D. A. Richardson of Palacios, an equipment operator; and C. P. Richardson, deceased. He has six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and one step-grandson.