PORT TOWNSEND — A plaque dedication ceremony posthumously honoring Nora Porter is set for 4 p.m. Dec. 18 at the building at Fort Worden that was named for her.
Porter, a devoted and celebrated civic activist and community volunteer, died at the age of 74 of lung cancer in October 2011.
The state Parks and Recreation Commission renamed Building 210 the Nora Porter Commons in 2015 in recognition of her contributions.
Former State Rep. Lynn Kessler, a friend and colleague of Porter’s, will be at the Dec. 18 ceremony.
Porter worked as aide for Kessler, a Democrat from Hoquiam representing the 24th District, for the first third of Kessler’s 18-year legislative career.
The ceremony will be hosted by the Fort Worden Public Development Authority in collaboration with Washington State Parks, Friends of Fort Worden and the Fort Worden Advisory Committee.
The event is open to the public.
Porter was presented with a Jefferson County Heart of Service award in May 2011 for her longtime public service.
She was recognized for her passionate support of Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County and other education and community causes.
She supported the Port Townsend Foundation and the Port Townsend High School Scholarship Foundation, both of which she helped create.
She also served on the Port Townsend School Board, the Fort Worden Advisory Committee and the Peninsula College Board of Trustees.
The last few years of her life were focused on Fort Worden State Park.
At the time of her death, she was an at-large member of the Fort Worden Advisory Committee, where she participated in park planning and argued tirelessly against establishing an admission system for state parks.
