Phillip Tanner Porter September 28, 1955 - April 4, 2024

Phillip Tanner Porter passed away on April 4, 2024 in Provo Utah, at the age of 68. Phil was born in Payson on September 28, 1955 to Clell and Phyllis (Tanner) Porter and grew up in Salem Utah. He overcame a lot in his childhood, after contracting a serious illness, his mother was told he wasn’t able to cry for 7 months. Following this he had to relearn how to talk and walk, although his mom used to joke that due to his big ears they may as well “put him on the porch to see if he’d walk or fly.” He did eventually grow into his ears. While in school, Phil enjoyed performing in plays, he loved to sing and had an amazing voice.

Phil served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Canada Halifax mission. Phil’s cooking skills saved many of his missionary companions. His experimental recipes always included a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. His family was sometimes worried about his creations, but they almost always survived. His love of cooking started at four years old when his mom made him cook his own eggs after he complained about hers. He would later say those were the worst eggs he’d ever eaten but he ate them all and then told his mom “Mmmm, just how I likes ‘em!”

Phil married Denise DeGraw in the Manti Utah Temple on February 17, 1977. They had 5 children with 4 of them coming rather quickly. Scott in 78, Lynn in 79, Gina in 80, Jessica in 83 and Andrew who finally came in 1996. Phil had a great love of being Santa and bringing the magic of Christmas to kids of all ages. He donned his Santa suit for 39 years before his cancer prevented him from continuing. He felt very close to his Savior and some of his most sacred experiences occurred while wearing that suit. Of the many jobs Phil had, being a Charter bus driver was his favorite. Because of this job he saw much of the country and met many different kinds of people. Seeing so much of nature encouraged a love of photography. He took many photos on his trips, some of his favorites were framed and now hang in his home.

Phil was a natural story teller, and his life experiences gave him a lot of stories to tell. You knew you were in for an adventure when he said, “It’s just like the time” or “that reminds me of,” if these phrases were accompanied with laughter you knew you were in for a good one. His last great hobby was creating and selling silk flower arrangements, even coming up with the name Phorever Phlowers by Phil. He gave away more than he sold and was so proud of all his arrangements. Phil treasured his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, he loved his Savior and had a strong testimony of His gospel.

The family wishes to give a special thanks to all those who served their family in the past 5 years. Phil especially appreciated his son Lynn and his son-in-law Randy for all the many hours of service they gave him.

He is preceded in death by his parents Clell and Phyllis Porter, and 4 brothers-in-law. He is survived by his beloved wife Denise (DeGraw), his children Scott (Erica) Porter, Lynn Porter, Gina (Chad) Evans, Jessica (Randy) Grimes, and Andrew (Shannah) Porter, 17 grandchildren and 1 great grandson.

A viewing will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints building at 60 S Main St in Salem Utah on Friday April 12th from 6-8 pm. Funeral services will be held in the same location on Saturday April 13th at 11 am with a viewing preceding the funeral from 9:30-10:45am.

In lieu of flowers please consider donating to his funeral fund through Venmo.