Joe Porras

Joe Porras, 96, born on February 3, 1923, in Miami, Arizona, passed away June 16, 2019. He resided in Los Angeles, California at the time of his passing. Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn, Glendale, California. He was a salesman for an old Los Angeles company called MacPherson Leather. He supplied shoe repair shops all over Los Angeles and the Central Valley. He traveled to the Imperial Valley by car several times a month and knew his clients well. However, his first job as a youth was selling newspapers on the street corner of Los Angeles near the LA Library. As a young person, his love of the outdoors was strong and became more so as he matured. He enjoyed camping and freshwater fishing. Family vacations involved this type of trip and we all learned to fish.

On weekends, he played golf whenever possible. It was a great form of relaxation for him and a time to spend with his buddies. In his lifetime, he hit a "hole in one". He didn't talk about it much, but he was happy about it. He was creative, enjoyed "doodling" for us when we were children, and enjoyed reading throughout his life. Enjoyed watching sports on TV: golf, football & especially basketball. He preferred college teams. He was most supportive of his sons when they played in high school and attended as many of their games as possible.

Even though he lived to the age of 96, unfortunately, he suffered from dementia starting in his mid-80's, which severely deteriorated his quality of life. He was on hospice care for this past year and confined to the bed that whole time. The family worked to keep him in his own home for all of this until the last 15 days when his condition was so bad that he needed to be moved to a care facility. His caregivers were angels. These people - Fran, Dina, Soledad, Diego, allowed him to live out his life in the familiar surroundings of his own home. His daughters, Cynthia and Nancy, provided support to the caregivers and spent full days each weekend to relieve the caregivers. His sons in law - Richard and Tony (me) were also involved in his care and support in any way we could.

Joe was just a great guy. He had a great circle of friends that he golfed with, he would go camping and fishing with the family and was all about family. He was always there to help with whatever was needed - painting the house, fixing something, building something. He was good with his hands, extremely handy around the house, and quite artistic and creative. He was also an avid reader. He followed politics and stood up for the immigrant, the poor, and the oppressed.