WILLIAM CHARLES PORTER

01/28/1943 - 10/18/2026

William Charles Porter, 83, of Auburn, Alabama passed to life eternal on Sunday, 18 October 2026, after a protracted illness. The son of Arthur Cleveland Porter, Sr. and Madeliene Van Sandt Porter, Bill was born, reared, and spent the great majority of his adult life in Selma, Alabama. Upon graduation from A.G. Parrish High School in 1961, he earned his B.S. from Auburn University. His life was one of service to his family, church, and community. In Selma, Bill was a distinguished leader, working for many years at the Paul M. Grist YMCA and at Camp Grist as Director. In mid-life, his career turned to finance, culminating in his years at the People’s Bank and Trust Company. In 1976 Bill was elected to Selma’s City Council, a post to which voters returned him over several terms, including his tenure as its President.

People were ever dear to Bill, and his relationships were many and sustained over decades, whether as a coach, a referee, an active Kiwanian, or President of the Dallas County Auburn Club. Most dear was his family, whom he leaves to mourn his passing and rejoice in his inheritance as a child of God. Bill was preceded in death by his parents and his sisters, Patti Porter Barlow and Judy Elizabeth Porter. He is survived by his devoted wife of 52 years Karen Eloise Wall Porter; sons, William Charles Porter, Jr., Christopher Steven Porter (Cynthia), and Jon Weston Porter; grandsons, Carter Speight Porter (fiancé Jayna Storm) and Steven Marshall Porter; brother, Arthur Cleveland Porter, Jr; mother-in-law, Veta Sobera Wall; brothers-in-law, Lawrence Edward Wall, Jr. and Robert Scott Wall (Ada); nephews, Brian Earnest and Bradley Cleveland Porter; and nieces, Heather Porter McCleary, Ashley Earnest Brock, Jami Barlow Sikes, Cary Frances Wall, and Elizabeth Grey Wall.

The family is deeply grateful for the compassionate care given by Dr. Bret Cuthbertson, Dr. Sara Dawit, Dr. David G. Holmes, and Dr. Gaeton D. Lorino and staff of the East Alabama Medical Center, Opelika and Dr. Nourallah Alsayed, Dr. Imran Khalil, and Dr. Nicholas Voss and the staff of Flowers Hospital, Dothan, AL, and the care given weekly by the kind staff of Adoration Home Care of East Alabama.

An 11:00 a.m. funeral service will be held on Monday, 26 October 2026 at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Auburn, Alabama with a reception following in the parish hall. A family service of interment will follow at Town Creek Cemetery, Auburn. Pall bearers will be: Christopher Wren Burns, William Marion Chandler III, Emory Terry Gibson, Paul Clarence Hansell Jr., Johnny Esquire Moss III, John Allen Oakes III, Albert Frederick Schober III, and Phillip Reed Zeigler. The family requests that in lieu of flowers any donations be made to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church of Auburn or St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Selma.

Frederick-Dean Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.