John A Porter

John passed away peacefully at his home in Sandpoint, Idaho on the morning of August 15th, 2017 surrounded by his loving family. John was born on November 20th, 1942 in Sharon, North Dakota to George and Ethel Porter. He attended Fargo High School and then went on to North Dakota State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy. He met his future wife, Susan Hawn, in high school and they later married in August 1965. After graduating from college, John and Sue moved to Spokane where he was employed by Thrify Drug and later worked for Abbott Laboratories. While working for Abbott, Sandpoint was one of his stops and that is where he met the owner of Sandpoint Drug and purchased the business in 1974. He later opened Sandpoint Super Drug in 1985 on 5th Avenue where it still stands today. After retirement, he sold the business to his son Scott in early 2017. John was an active member of the community he loved. He was involved with Kiwanis, was a member of the hospital board and the fair board. He strongly supported education and literacy and was awarded the Paul Harris Rotary Foundation Award in 2017 which recognizes service above self. John was an avid golfer, snow skier and fisherman and truly loved the outdoors. He was always positive and happy with the people he interacted with and had a smile and a kind word for all. When asked how he was, he always responded with, “outstanding, excellent, or fantastic.” John’s incredible generosity and willingness to help others was the way he lived his life. Above all else, John loved his family. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Susan, daughter Shelley Dolsby and her husband Craig of Spokane, son Scott and wife Autumn of Sandpoint, son Chris and his wife Christy of Boise. He had eight grandchildren, Cameron, Paige and Cole Dolsby; Damian and Lauren Porter and Noah, Gabriel and Reilly Porter. A vigil rosary will be said at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church on Monday, August 21st at 6:00 p.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted on Tuesday the 22nd at 11:00 a.m. with Father Dennis C. Day officiating. A luncheon will follow in the church hall.