Cynthia Ann Porter

September 24, 1935 – October 27, 2023

Cynthia just celebrated her 88th birthday with family and friends at her new residence of Harbor Towers Village. She passed away peacefully holding her daughter’s hand during the early morning hours of October 27th.

Cynthia was born in Jamestown, New York to Marion Wilbur and Everett Jerome Edson. The family had a dairy farm in nearby Sinclairville where Cynthia grew up. Cynthia was an outgoing middle child; she had an older sister Thelma and younger brother Grant. After graduating high school Cynthia moved to Jamestown where she worked as a secretary for the Norman Rockwell company. She went on to Airline Stewardess school in Los Angeles and returned home to marry Roy Wayne Porter on August 27, 1955. The two moved soon after to Ithaca, New York so Roy could attend Cornell University where Roy continued to study and eventually obtained a PhD in Biochemistry for Food Science

During college breaks the two loved to travel and took trips overseas to explore Europe and even camping around the countryside. After graduating, they moved to Ketchikan Alaska. This was the beginning of many moves in his career and Cynthia enjoyed living all across the United States including St Louis, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dixon California and eventually ending up to outskirts of Seattle then finally retiring in Coupeville on Whidbey Island in Washington. They continued to travel all over the world exploring many historical sites and points of interest. Travel was ingrained in her from a young age with her Aunt Hattie having told her many stories of faraway places but being on a dairy farm where cows needed milking twice a day she never got to get far. Her mother Marion had traveled to Europe on a steamship after her college graduation and regaled stories of the adventure throughout Cynthia’s childhood.

Cynthia is survived by her son Doug and wife Anna of Salem Oregon and their daughter Renae currently studying at Oregon State University in Corvallis. Cynthia’s daughter Ann and her husband Greg live on Whidbey and have 3 children, Tyler and Margie Abrahamse of Oak Harbor, Logan and Maddie Abrahamse of Terrace Heights Washington, and Zoey Abrahamse of Oak Harbor.

Cynthia enjoyed her 8 great grandchildren,

Bentley, Brody, Wyatt, Justin, and Eli (Tyler and Margie)

Aiden and Hallie (Logan and Maddie)

Daisy ( Zoey )

Cynthia enjoyed the Oak Harbor Senior Center activities and was an avid weekly participant. She also enjoyed gardening and scrapbooking although the past few years that has lessened. Yahtzee was her favorite game, and she would carry spare dice and a score pad around in her purse just in case she found anyone who would play. She was known as the ice cream lady, always wanting ice cream, making her homemade banana ice cream was a family favorite treat.

Cynthia was preceded in death by her daughter Cheryl in 1959, her brother Grant in 1983, her granddaughter Sadie in 1997, her sister Thelma in 2013, and her husband of 61 years in August 2016.