October 14, 2021
This week we lost another member of our Arkansas archeological community and a wonderful friend. Larry Porter had just retired as station assistant at the WRI Research Station and was a long-time member of the Arkansas Archeological Society. He passed away peacefully at home after a brief illness.
We all have memories of working on projects with Larry including Society Training Programs, Davidsonville, Carden Bottoms, Wild Violet, Pruitt, Drennen-Scott, to mention just a few. It was always a good thing to see Larry out on the site. He was down to earth, kind-hearted, and had a creative spirit. His sense of humor and laugh brightened what was sometimes monotonous work. He had a tremendous curiosity about nature and archeology. His mother told stories of him constantly bringing home things he picked up while out on his wanderings during his childhood. Larry studied art in college, but as anyone who saw his work knew, he had a natural talent. He could even make art from screened back-dirt piles (see image below) and was often seen carving objects from a stick of wood or making a quick sketch. You could always count on Larry to make the most interesting finds on a site, like the cloth bag of Archaic projectile points he found stuffed into the rafters of Looney Tavern, long forgotten by the original finder. Larry was a mentor to many young people who participated in our archeological projects through the years, and he will always be thought of as family.
Whenever you were working with Larry, he never failed to bring up his family. He loved joking about how his wife, Debbie, had put up with him all these years. He loved talking about his kids and, especially, his grandkids and their adventurous spirits. He also loved going home to play with his animals, whether it be his dogs or his chickens. Larry was one of a kind. We’ll miss you, Larry!
