Frances Porter McKelvy

Born on 1911, DEC. 21, in Whitesboro, Texas, Frances M. Reaves Porter-McKelvy had two sisters and a brother. Her father was a carpenter and managed a lumber mill. She studied piano and was the only sibling to play. The piano has been a great part of her life through the years; she played for churches and senior citizens gatherings in the Atlanta area. Frances married Elbert M. Porter before World War II. After the war, he was a pharmacist, and they owned and operated a drugstore in downtown Dallas. At age 40 they retired to the Porter Family farm where her husband grew up at OFarrell Community in East Texas, near Atlanta. They lived there for 25 years. There they attended the O'farrell Baptist Church and developed a pine tree farm with livestock. During that time, Mr. Porter worked as a pharmacist in Atlanta (Walker Drug) and New Boston while Lawrence was in school. (In 1952 they had a son, Lawrence, who attended the Atlanta schools. After Atlanta High School, Lawrence received degrees in piano and taught at universities.) She was blessed with a granddaughter, Nicole, who was like a daughter. As Mr. and Mrs Porter aged, health required them move into Atlanta. Among Frances residences was the Homer Carter House in downtown Atlanta. In 1979 she was blessed with a granddaughter. Frances enjoyed taking her to parks, visiting friends and walking around downtown Atlanta. Frances enjoyed playing 42, as well as many other domino games with her friends. She would still play a game today if there were enough people around who knew how to play. Mrs. Porter was a devout member and pianist of the OFarrel Baptist church in the farm community in which they lived. Later the family moved membership to Atlanta First Baptist Church and in later years she was a member of the Queen City Baptist Church and Bloomburg Methodist Churches, respectively. She married John McKelvy at age 79, and they enjoyed a comfortable life in Bloomberg, Texas at their home for a number of years. Afterwards, Mrs. Porter-Mckelvy resided in Atlanta, until health required her to move to Colonial Lodge in Texarkana. She has been residing in Colonial Lodge in Texarkana for the past 5 years. If given a reason for her longevity, her son says it may be because she always ate salads and fresh tomatoes and had a strong determination to live and see the positive side of life. Mrs. Porter passed away peacefully at St. Michael's Hospital on Tuesday, November 26th, 2012. Services will be held at the O'farrell Baptist Church in the O'farrell Community on FM 995 at 1:00 pm Saturday.