- Date Of Birth: May 5, 1930
- Date Of Death: July 6, 2018
- State: Connecticut
WESTBROOK – Dr. William S. Porter, 88, of Westbrook, passed away peacefully on Friday, July 6, 2018. He was the beloved husband of Patricia (Van Megroot) Porter for 63 years.
William was born in Niagara Falls, NY on May 5, 1930 to the late Samuel and Elsie (Robertson) Porter. He graduated high school, as the valedictorian, in Niagara Falls. As his interest in science began in high school, he earned the prestigious Bausch & Lomb science award. He then received his Bachelor’s Degree in Physics from the University of Buffalo. Scoring perfect grades on everything he was challenged with, Yale waived the prerequisite of having to obtain a Master’s Degree and awarded him a PhD in Theoretical Nuclear Physics. Additionally, he was elected into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, one year early, during his junior year at Yale.
From school, he was recruited by the Los Alamos National Lab where he conducted classified nuclear research. While he was there he was declared “Lightening Chess Champion” of Los Alamos, competing against some of the brightest scientist in the world including a Nobel Laureate.
