Ralph Orin Porter, age 87 of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, died in his sleep on March 20, 2026 due to complications related to Alzheimer’s.

Born in Green City, Missouri on December 15, 1938, Ralph grew up on the family farm alongside his sister Ann and parents Chloie Iona [Stickler] and Orin Beatty Porter.

He was very proud of being one of the last group of students to attend the Pleasantville one-room schoolhouse. He later graduated from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College (now Truman State) where he earned his Masters degree.

He began his science teaching career in Keokuk, Iowa. It was there he also coached the high school women’s basketball team. With a few years of teaching under his belt, his sister convinced him to join her in California, as “they pay teachers really well here!” He moved west in 1964 and thus became one of the founding teachers at Rolling Hills High School. He taught there from its founding until the school was renamed in 1991. He continued at the renamed Peninsula High School until retiring in 1999.

He further participated in the life of the High School beyond the classroom. For most of his years at RHHS he acted as the official scorer for the school’s football games, women’s basketball games, water polo games, swim meets and track meets. His constant involvement at those events in his camel-colored RHHS blazer made him one of the best known teachers at the school. He also was the sponsor for the school’s game and chess clubs, even driving students to chess tournaments so they might compete at the state level.

Shortly after moving to California in 1964 he met and started dating his sister’s roommate, Janet Mae Ball whom he then married. Ralph and Jan were both teachers and used their summer vacations to travel the nation and tour the capitals of all 50 states. The two married on June 6, 1966 and moved into the home they would inhabit for the remainder of their lives. They soon had two sons, David and Scott. In addition to David (and wife Audra) and Scott (and wife Stacy), Ralph is survived by his four grandchildren, Naomi, Luke, Sarah and Will and his sister Ann.

Ralph strove to find ways to make the world a better place. When he saw something that needed to be accomplished, he jumped in to assist where he thought he could help. This is why he became a volunteer distributing press credentials at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. It was also why for five years he managed all the equipment for the Palos Verdes Little League. To make getting to a SAT test location easier for PV students he instituted the SAT test at RHHS.

As he cared emphatically about preserving the environment, he volunteered for more than a decade at the South Coast Botanical Garden. He helped care for some specific gardens and also led botanical tours. The Botanical Society continues to honor him as one of their lifetime sponsors.

He pitched in and assisted in the same way at his beloved church. As a member of St. Peter’s Presbyterian Church for over 50 years, he held many different leadership roles. Most meaningful to him was the role as Elder in charge of Mission. As an Elder he oversaw periodic trips to Mexico to build homes and also led projects in the South Bay through the church’s “Mission Impact” program.

That interest led him to work with area food banks. By 2004 he saw that food banks were unable to provide enough fresh and healthy food to the needy. He reached out and quickly established a network of weekly collections from both the vendors at the local farmers markets and local grocery stores. For years, each week he collected over one ton of fresh fruits and vegetables that he distributed to seven different local organizations.

He also found joy in helping Scouts. Ralph served roughly half a century as a Scouter. He began his Scouting journey with Troop 257 where his two sons earned their Eagle Scout awards. He served there as Scoutmaster until stepping down after nearly twenty years. He was then approached by some parents requesting he help them start a new troop and serve as Scoutmaster. He became the founding Scoutmaster of Troop 128. Under his leadership this Troop grew from the first five boys to over 100 members. He also shared his knowledge with Scouts around the Peninsula every year as Troops always asked him to teach about the native plants for the annual Scout Parents field day. He later served on the board of Scout Parents and eventually became its President for two terms. Even that level of involvement wasn’t enough for him - he became a District Commissioner because he saw that individual Scouts needed guidance on how to earn their Eagle badge. Because of his assistance, over 400 Scouts across Southern California earned their Eagle badge. He was especially proud that all four of his grandchildren earned their Eagle Scout awards.

His many years of seeking solutions to problems that others had ignored eventually brought him unasked for attention. In 2007 he was awarded the “Senior of the Year” by the South Coast Interfaith Council. In 2010 the Scouts awarded him the Silver Beaver, the highest award for a Scout volunteer. In 2021 the Lions Club recognized him as “Volunteer of the Year.”

Throughout his life, when he was not spending his time volunteering he enjoyed attending live jazz and big band concerts, cheering on his beloved St. Louis Cardinals, voraciously reading all he could about every type of sports and sharing the random factoids he learned, or indulging in his passion for trains or playing some kind of game. Whenever possible he’d combine these passions by playing a train game with the radio playing music while simultaneously watching baseball on television.

In lieu of flowers, please make any donations to one of the organizations that support Ralph’s passions:

Scout Parents Inc. https://www.scoutparentsinc.com/

South Coast Botanic Garden https://southcoastbotanicgarden.org/donate-to-south-coast-botanic-garden/

Harbor Interfaith https://www.harborinterfaith.org/support-us-2/donate-now/