Obituary of Nona Jean Reed Porter

Nona Jean Reed Porter, age 94, died Sunday, February 23, at Colonial Gardens.  She was a beloved mother, grandmother, and sister.

Visitation will begin at 11:00 a.m. with a Rosary at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, March 3, 2025 at Holy Family Catholic Church, 6150 Pershing Avenue, Fort Worth, Texas.

Mass of Christian Burial: 12:00 p.m. Monday, March 3, 2025 at Holy Family Catholic Church.  A reception and lunch will follow at 1:00 p.m.

Interment: St. John's Cemetery, Canton, Ohio at a later date.

Born in Denver, CO, Nona spent her childhood in Laramie, WY.  Parts of her youth were spent traveling throughout South America and in Germany.  She graduated from the University of Wyoming where she studied music and musical composition.  A college scholarship, attained by winning a composition competition, paid for her tuition.  Her piano composition was entitled “The Bill Cody Suite.”  Nona also studied at American University in Washington, DC and Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University.  She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority for over 75 years.

Nona received a Masters of Music with a major of composition from the Eastman School of Music.  She continued to compose throughout her life, including a harp piece for her daughter's wedding.

 

In 1971, Nona started to teach piano. She taught hundreds of students to play with precision, discipline, and emotion.  Her three children were her first students.  She taught in New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio.

 

Always striving to improve her piano teaching abilities, she joined state and local piano teacher organizations and both attended and presented teaching seminars.

 

Nona was an active member of the communities to which she belonged.  In Canton, Ohio, she played the piano for the Melodiers, a choral group which entertained civic groups and nursing home residents.  Nona delivered meals for Meals on Wheels in Ohio and Indiana.  She was a member of the international sisterhood, Philanthropic Educational Organization, for over 70 years.

 

A devout Roman Catholic, Nona was engaged in parish life in the many parishes to which she belonged.  She served as a lector and Eucharistic minister, and delivered the Eucharist to homebound residents.  Nona was an advocate for unborn babies.  

 

Nona was married to Raymond Porter for 45 years.  She is survived by daughter, Virginia Porter, of Seymour, TX; son and daughter-in-law, Stephen and Maryann Porter, of Fort Worth, TX; and daughter and son-in-law, Rebecca and Timothy Salter, of Nashville, IN; 7 grandchildren; 10 great grandchildren; and a brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Susan Reed, of Chamberlain, ME.