Elsie Mcguffee Porter

Elsie McGuffee Porter, 91, went to her Heavenly home on Sunday, September 13, 2015. She was a woman of great faith who put her trust in Jesus for her salvation and demonstrated her faith in a life of service to His glory.
Mrs. Porter and her twin sister were born in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana on June 8, 1924, to Robert D. and Alice Sones McGuffee. She grew up in the small farming community of Enterprise, Louisiana,
Following her high school graduation in 1941, she moved to Natchez, Mississippi, to work and save money to attend nursing school. She graduated from the Charity Hospital School of Nursing in New Orleans in 1946.
Mrs. Porter worked as a nurse for 46 years. She began her career at Charity Hospital, and worked diligently in hospitals in the New Orleans area, including Baptist, West Jefferson, and Veterans hospitals. Mrs. Porter loved nursing and was dedicated to comforting the sick. Mrs. Porter retired from nursing at the age of 68, to take care of her husband who was ill at that time.
In 1946, Mrs. Porter married Henry L. Porter II, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of World War II. Mr. Porter entered the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1952 and was ordained at Calvary Baptist as a minister in 1957.
Mrs. Porter was tireless in her support of her husband’s ministry. Together they worked to build and serve in several churches on the Westbank including Expressway and Westside Baptist.
Along with being a nurse and a preacher's wife, Mrs. Porter was a devoted mother and grandmother. She had three children, six grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. She loved her family, loved taking her grandchildren to church, and loved cooking big family meals.
Elise was preceded in death by her mother, Alice Sones McGuffee, and her father, Robert Durrell McGuffee, her younger sister, Sarah Jacobson, her older sister, Olivia Horn, and her older brother, Cecil Clyde McGuffee. She is survived by two younger brothers, Durrell Merwyn McGuffee, and Michael Barry McGuffee, and her twin sister, Delcie Brown. She is also survived by her three children, Charlotte Steger (husband, Joe), Henry Lawrence Porter, Jr. (wife, Pam), and Deborah Saunders (husband, Larry). Elsie's six grandchildren are Jamie Steger Scaglione, Jill Steger Stevenson (husband, Todd), Scott Saunders, Grant Saunders, Heather Porter Rodrigue (husband, Dustin), and Claire Porter. Elsie is also survived by nine great-grandchildren: Brianna Hanson, Emma Stevenson, Addy Stevenson, Charlotte Stevenson, James Stevenson, Vittoria Scaglione, Zoe Rodrigue, Kyler Scaglione, and Zach Rodrigue.
The family would like to thank the staff of Our Lady of Wisdom Healthcare for their kind and consistent care during Mrs. Porter's lengthy illness.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend the visitation at Oak Park Baptist Church, 1110 Kabel Drive in New Orleans on Friday, September 18, 2015 from 9 AM to 11 AM. Services will follow. Interment Westlawn Memorial Park.
MOTHE FUNERAL HOME is in charge of arrangements. For directions or to view and sign the online guest book, please visit: www.mothefunerals.com .