Douglas Porto

Douglas Porto, age 90 formerly of Middletown and Bloomingburg NY passed away in Boca Raton Florida December 21, 2020

He was born in New Britain CT on March 18, 1930, the son of Gladys Thompson Porto and Michael William Porto.  He moved to Middletown NY in 1945 when his father purchased a share of Wallace Oil Co. Inc.

He is survived by his wife of 68 years RUTH and 3 children & 7 Grandchildren.  His children are Deborah Caffrey (Brian) of Waynesville NC & their children Aaron, Arden and Anna; Dawn Mendelsohn (David) of Framingham MA & their children Rebecca and Daniel: D W Porto (Christine) of Middletown NY & Hobe Sound FL & their children Caitlyn and Joseph (Dani); and 2 nieces, Marjory Barr of San Diego CA & Barbara McDonough of Pahrump NV. He was predeceased by his parent’s and his sister, Gladys Murphy.

Douglas (Doug) graduated from Middletown High School in 1948 and from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY in 1952 with a degree in Management Engineering.

In 1951 he met the love of his life,  Ruth (Ruthie) on a blind date.  Everything clicked and they married in 1952.

 After serving in the Army he joined his father in business at Wallace Oil where he spent his entire business career with his good friend and business partner, Don Fischbeck.  His son DW joined the company in 1980 .  Doug retired in 1990.  DW subsequently sold a part of the business including the name Wallace Oil Co, continuing the business under the name of Alta East Inc.  Doug also served as a trustee/director of Middletown Savings Bank (later MSB Bank) for 26 years. During his time on the Board MSB grew from 1 branch to 25 branches, went public, merged with Poughkeepsie Savings Bank and was sold to TD Bank.

He was a dedicated member of Grace Episcopal Church, Middletown NY for several years serving on the Vestry, as Senior Warden and as Treasurer for 15 years.  He was also very active in the in the community.  Doug’s proudest accomplishment was his time as a member of the 120 member Middletown Jaycees serving as president in 1962.  He was honored to be appointed a lifetime JC International Senator in 1964.  He was a 50year member of the Middletown Kiwanis Club, a 50year member of the Excelsior Hook and Ladder Co #1, served as a director of Horton Memorial Hospital, the Chamber of Commerce of Orange County and the Empire State Petroleum Association.

Since moving to Florida, he has been active in the Delray Beach Kiwanis Club, his condo association, and his retirement community, Saint Andrews Estates.  Doug has worked in Palm Beach County as a volunteer at the Lords Place, St Lawrence Chapel and Boca Helping Hands. He and Ruth are devout members of St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Boca Raton participating in several of its outreach programs.

To say that Doug was an avid MET fan since the METS inception in 1962 is an understatement.  Over the years he attended several games at Shea Stadium in BOX 58E and most all the spring training MET games in Port St Lucy since moving to Florida. His NY and FL license plates “4 METS” were seen all over Orange County NY and in Palm Beach County FL.  His home office walls and shelves are adorned with all sorts of MET memorabilia.  His collection of NY MET year books, division, league and world series books is complete from 1962 to date.  If he were able to take something with him, it would have been something to do with the NY METS!

Contributions can be made to either church’s outreach programs.  St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church 100 NE Mizner Blvd, Boca Raton FL 33432 or Grace Episcopal Church 58 North St, Middletown NY 10940

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