Ann Porter

On April 26, 2023, Ann Hardy Porter, a 50-year resident of Buncombe County, NC, died peacefully in her sleep. Ann was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1940. Having been born on the 4th of July, Ann was a true firecracker throughout her life. She graduated from Laurel School in Cleveland, Ohio in 1958 and Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education.

As a young professional, Ann taught kindergarten for several years in Boston and New York City before she and her former husband, Dr. Cedric Porter, Jr., moved to Manila, Philippines. After traveling extensively throughout southeast Asia, they eventually relocated to Asheville, North Carolina. In Asheville, Ann devoted all of her love, time, and energy to raising her three young children. As her children got older, she decided to return to teaching and taught kindergarten at Carolina Day School until retiring in 1997.

Although Ann loved North Carolina`s temperate climate and living in North Asheville, every summer she treasured returning to her New England roots at her family bungalow in Hollis, New Hampshire. When Ann arrived in Hollis, in early June, the social lives of her friends and local family got much busier; she was a consummate hostess. Ann’s days in Hollis were predictably carefree. Often, she began the days by treating her northern friends to a large southern breakfast, introducing many of them to grits for the first time, tended to her beautiful flower garden, spent long afternoons swimming at Rocky Pond, cooled off with ice cream at Lock`s, enjoyed cocktails on the porch as the sun set over her White Mountain view, and dined on farm fresh meals which often included one of her favorites, Hollis corn. While in Hollis, Ann and her beloved dogs also reveled in nature, greeting her avian friends like hummingbirds, barred owls, as well as the occasional indigo bunting.

Ann will be remembered as a loyal friend and neighbor and the “cool mom” whose welcoming home was a safe and fun gathering place for her children’s friends. She loved her Trinity Episcopal Church community, her many girlfriends, and later in life, her “Mermaids”, the water aerobics crew who gathered to exercise at the Grove Park pool. She was predeceased by her parents Rodney C. and Harriett (Hickok) Hardy and her brother Rodney D. Hardy of Edina, MN.

She leaves behind her son Cedric “Ric” Porter of Asheville; her daughter Sarah Porter Springer (Philipp) of Zürich, Switzerland and their children Julian and Leah; and her son Rodney Porter (Jennie) of Charleston, SC and their children George and Tedford.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, May 5, 2023, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Asheville. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ann’s memory to the Hollis Historical Society, P.O. Box 754, Hollis, NH 03049. The town of Hollis, where Ann summered, and its long history with her family was dear to Ann.

Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian is assisting the family.