Doris Elaine Porter

 Doris Elaine Porter 12.16.2023

Doris Elaine Porter, a devout Christian, peacefully entered the gates of Heaven the morning of December 16, 2023 at the age of 101 years and three months following a brief illness while residing at The Jackson’s Place, a private residential care home in north Dallas, Texas. She lived a long, satisfying and fulfilling life. Willing her body for research purposes to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, her cremains will be interred alongside her beloved mother and father at Park Cemetery in Canton, Bradford County, Pennsylvania.

Ms. Porter, or “Po,” as she was affectionally known, was born September 29, 1922 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania to Harriette Agnes McNicol Porter and Alvin James Porter. She was the second of two children born to the Porter family.  Po was raised in Canton, PA attending Canton High School where she graduated in 1940 as the Valedictorian of her class.  She went on to attend and graduate from Pennsylvania State University (1943) with a double major in Physical Education and Science, and the University of Pennsylvania School of Physical Therapy (1949).

During the years following graduation from the State University, Po taught High School in Smethport, Pennsylvania before becoming the Physical Education Director for the Junior High and Elementary Schools in Jamestown, New York.  After completing the Certificate of Completion for Physical Therapy from the University of Pennsylvania she became the Staff Physical Therapist for the Elks Convalescent Home in Boise, Idaho specializing in physical therapy for polio victims during the polio epidemic. In 1952 Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas offered Ms. Porter the opportunity to specialize in her work with polio victims as a physical therapist. She later became the Educational Director (1955-1970) of the PT program and Assistant Professor in Physical Therapy and Anatomy for Baylor University of Dallas (1957-1970).

In 1970, Ms. Porter began her work with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas, in what became known as the School of Allied Health Professions. She was the founding Director of the Department of Physical Therapy, later becoming an Associate Professor and Chairman of the Physical Therapy Department.  She served on multiple committees while on staff of the school.

Ms. Porter had memberships in local, state and national professional organizations in Physical Therapy serving in multiple positions as an officer and/or committee member. She traveled worldwide as a delegate to the American Physical Therapy Association National Conferences for many years, attending or participating in numerous training institutes, courses and forums. She served on the Texas State Legislature Committee working on licensure requirements for physical therapists. Texas Governor Preston Smith appointed Ms. Porter to the first State Board for Physical Therapists. 

Ms. Porter’s involvement in other organizations included, the Medical Services Committee for the Dallas County Junior College System and the Advisory Committee for the Tarrant County (Ft. Worth) Junior College System.  She also served as consultant (1983-1987) for the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Inspector General, the United States Air Force, the Office of Health Financing Integrity, the University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences, and the Rehabilitation Services Associates in Dallas. She served two six-year terms on the Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners, and on the task force for On Function and Procedural Guidelines for the Dallas Independent School District and was a special lecturer for Texas Women’s University in Denton (1981-1984).

 Po retired from the Medical School in 1980 as Associate Professor Emeritus to care for her elderly father who had moved to Dallas from Canton PA.  However, she continued to serve on the aforementioned committees, lecturing and consulting. She was the recipient of many awards including the Service Award from the Texas State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners (1985) and the Lucy Blair Service Award from the American Physical Therapy Association (1981). She was listed in Who’s Who of American Women (1978). 

In 1961, Po, along with her good friend, Shirley Hawthorne, discovered the joys and beauty of Creede, Colorado. They partnered together to purchase land overlooking the Rio Grande National Forest, an idyllic location, they named “Deep Creek Ranch.”  They summered for years at Deep Creek Ranch, hiking and camping, before having a large “cabin” built at the base of the mountain in 1983.   Po spent the summer and fall seasons there during her retirement years and joined Creede Baptist Church, which in latter years she considered to be her “home” church. She made many life-long friends in Creede.

Po had many hobbies, including gardening, cooking and baking. She enjoyed traveling the world and seeing all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii.  For many years she had season tickets to  the Dallas Symphony.  She also enjoyed going to the theatre.

In 1965, Po joined Reinhardt Bible Church in Dallas. In 1999 she became a charter member of Redeemer Bible Church in East Dallas, which was nearer to her home. In 2002, Po was declared legally blind with Wet Macular Degeneration. Not to be slowed down, she flew to Rochester Hills, Michigan for training with Leader Dogs for the Blind to receive a leader service dog. She outlived two beloved leader dogs, Skillet and Blue. 

In 2000, Ms. Porter, as the original founder of the Department of Physical Therapy at UT Southwestern, endowed the first professorship at UT Southwestern Allied Health Sciences School in Dallas. The Doris E. Porter Professorship in Physical Therapy provides support for physical therapy research and instructional activities at the allied health school.  In 2017, she  also endowed South Texas Children’s Home (STCH) in Beeville, Texas with a major scholarship fund awarding gifts to graduating students.

Ms. Porter was dearly loved and respected. She was committed to her Lord and Savior and to all God’s children.  She loved and was faithful to all her friends and relatives. She had a soft spot for children. She loved meeting new people and interacting with them. She loved telling a good story. She loved her students, some of whom kept in contact with her after graduation --- many referring to her in a loving way as a “force to be reckoned with.” She had an astonishing memory for all things, even remembering names of her students and patients from long ago. She especially cherished her work with the children, the victims of polio in the 1950s, and seeing the results of physical therapy for people of all ages. She was a wise woman and would often share from life experiences. She was a thankful person. She would often say that she had lived a wonderful life --- and that frankly, “I just love being alive and enjoying it.”  She was always thankful for those who helped her along the way, especially in her later years when she became blind, from caregivers to restaurant servers to drivers to friends. Even in her last hours she called out the names of those who were to be thanked for their help, including Bill & Teri Smith, Dr. Patricia Smith, Kent & Jane Barnard, who had all taken on the responsibility for the oversight of Po’s care for the past six years. She is missed. She definitely made our world a better place.  Her life of 101 years was well-lived.

Doris E. Porter was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Elizabeth Ann Porter (1919), her longtime friends and housemates, Shirley Hawthorne (2018) of Wichita Falls, TX and Glenese Hensarling of Dallas (2017). She is survived by loving cousins and relatives, along with many friends and former students.

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