Mike Ford Porter

Mike Ford Porter, 67, of Jerome, passed away April 20, 2024, after battling pancreatic cancer, like his brother Duane. He wanted to live to be 82 just like his parents. He was born October 6, 1956, in Douglas, Wyoming, to Carl and Dorthy Porter. Mike’s father was an oil rig roughneck, so the family moved often. By the time Mike was 10, the family had moved 56 times, and Mike’s mother stopped counting the moves. Mike averaged three schools a year until the age of 15. After a visit to the Oregon Coast, Carl and Dorthy then packed up their family and headed to Oregon to live. The family broke down in Hazelton, Idaho, and remained in Idaho. Mike eventually moved back to Wyoming with his father. 

Mike joined the Job Corps and went into the Army from 1976 to 1982, where he was a tank test driver. While in the Army, Mike got his GED, and he served in Korea, Germany, and other US and European bases.  

In 1994, Mike and his father, Carl, moved back to Idaho to be closer to the family. He and his father lived in one of the farmhouses owned by Chojnacky Farms. He lived there until his passing.  

Mike worked many jobs in the Magic Valley. His favorite job was working at Sun Valley Resort for the ski resort and on the golf course. He was a lift operator on many of the runs and mowed lawns on the golf course in the summer months.  He retired from Sun Valley in 2011. 

Mike was a very outgoing person. He could talk to anyone. He had a really good friend and neighbor, Rocky Bartholomew. Rocky always went to see Mike, take him meals, and at the end helped care for Mike and take him to his doctor’s appointments. 

Mike was preceded in death by his father, Carl; mother, Dorthy; brother, Duane; sister, Carol; and his niece, Joselyn Legg.  

Mike is survived by his sister, Annie (Gerald) Chojnacky; and many nieces and nephews. 

Mike will make his final journey to Lusk, Wyoming, and will be laid to rest in the Lusk Cemetery with his father Carl, grandfather Ford, grandmother Lois, Uncle Mike, and Uncle Earl.  

Memories and condolences may be shared with the family on Mike’s memorial webpage at www.farnsworthmortuary.com.