Hilda Mae Porter

Hilda Mae Kelley Porter passed into the presence of her Lord and Savior on December 1, 2015, surrounded by her beloved family. Mae was born on Dundee Avenue in Chester, MD on November 5, 1922. She was the daughter of Hilary D. Kelley and Hilda Tolson Kelley. She graduated in 1939 from Stevensville High School and was a loyal , proud member of the SHS Alumni Association. On November 20, 1941, she married Ernest Porter at Trinity Downes Memorial Methodist Church in Stevensville. They were married 67 years until his death January 14, 2009. Farmers all of their married lives, they started out on Kent Island and then moved to Starkey’s Corner near Centreville in the 1970’s. Farming, gardening, canning, and baking were her passions, and they shared their bounty in every possible way. In January of 2010, Mae moved into Candle Light Cove in Easton, MD, where she enjoyed making new friends, playing bingo, and other various activities. In addition to working on the farm, she was employed for many years by area Acme Markets. She worked on Kent Island as well as other locations throughout the shore before finishing her career in Centreville. Mae always enjoyed meeting former customers and co-workers from her years with Acme Markets out in the community. Both she and her husband were lifelong Kent Island Methodists. They were among the small group who worked diligently to found the Kent Island United Methodist Church in 1963. Mae served as President of the Women’s Society of Christian Service currently known as the United Methodist Women, taught Sunday School, and was also active at the District level, including dispensing Christian literature to all the local groups. She was a member of the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary which included working at the early carnivals. She and her husband belonged to the Tuckahoe Steam and Gas Association where she chaired the Flea Market for many years. She is survived by two sisters, Elizabeth “Libby” Dawkins of Easton, MD, Ava Honeycutt and her husband Lathern of Grasonville, MD; three nieces, Deborah Dawkins of Denton, MD, Dale Wheatley of Mardela Springs, MD, and Kim Honeycutt of Preston, MD; two nephews, Hugh Dawkins of Easton, MD, and Lee Dawkins of Doylestown, PA; five great-nieces; five great nephews; two great-great nephews; three great-great-nieces; and special friends, Buddy and Colleen Thomas of Stevensville. In addition to her parents and her husband, Mae was predeceased by her brother, Earl D. Kelley, her niece Sandra Kelley Wingate, and her nephew Don Earl Kelley. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, 2015, at the Kent Island United Methodist Church in Chester, MD. Interment will be in Stevensville Cemetery. Friends may call on Friday, December 4, 2015, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Rev. Roy B. Phillips Memorial Building Fund, Kent Island United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 308, Chester, MD 21619; Talbot Hospice Foundation, Inc. 586 Cynwood Drive, Easton, MD 21601; or Compass Regional Hospice, 255 Comet Drive, Centreville, MD 21617.

Hilda Mae Porter

November 5, 1922 - December 1, 2015