Larry Porter
Larry Porter, a 30-year veteran of campus security, died March 22, 2017.
A lifelong Saratoga resident, Larry graduated from Saratoga Springs High School in 1957. After serving two years on a Navy destroyer, he returned to Saratoga Springs, where his work included operating his own TV antenna firm. He joined Skidmore as a patrolman in 1969.
Working on the old and the new campuses in his early years, he became assistant chief of security in 1979 and then director of security in 1983.
Larry was well-known by generations of students, as well as nearly every faculty and staff member on campus during his tenure. According to Lori Parks, systems administrator in Campus Safety, “Larry could just look at somebody and instinctively know how to deal with them best. He saw problems as learning opportunities, and he altered his responses to fit the needs of each person.” She was impressed by how deftly he could use “guidance or tough love” or other tailored approaches in each moment, and grateful that he generously shared his insights to help her and other officers improve their own skills at reading people. She adds, “He was a tremendous leader, encouraging his staff to take on new tasks. He made Campus Safety, with all the seriousness that the job requires, still a fun place to work.”
Larry admitted to Lori that he loved big campus events like Commencement and family weekends, because “he liked seeing the students at their happiest and most care-free.” Even though he was a rules enforcer for their four years, graduating seniors often thanked him for his fatherly support, she says.
He retired at the end of 1999. Two years later, he started as a school bus driver for Saratoga Springs schools, a job he thoroughly enjoyed for the next 12 years.
Always deeply religious, Larry was a big fan of gospel music. He also enjoyed hunting and fishing. His family called him “a real people person with a tremendous sense of humor and the desire to make people laugh.” Along with his family, his pride and joy was the Greenfield Center property he lived on since 1948; he loved improving and caring for it.
Larry is survived by his wife of 55 years, Judy; daughter Lori (Mark Baird) of Cohoes and son Lawrence Michael (Lisa) of Hiram, Ohio; granddaughters Lindsay and Rebecca; sister Marjorie (Carl) Bull of Saratoga Springs; close friend Jon (Karen) Foster of Greenfield Center; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.