Porter McCellan Hamrick

Porter McCellan Hamrick of Indian Head, Maryland, went to be with the Lord on June 30, 2019.  He was born on Point Mountain in Webster County, West Virginia to the late Ray Luther and Rosa Belle Hamrick.

Porter grew up on a farm and was the 7th of 16 children.  He worked in the coal mines, built and owned a gas station, drove a tractor trailer truck, operated a bulldozer, and worked as a cashier/stock person at a store, and did welding at a strip mine.

He was drafted during WWII in 1942.  Porter served with the 12th Armored Division, 493rd Battalion, A Battery in Germany driving a tank.  In 1950, Porter’s Army Reserve Unit was called to active duty and he served in Korea in Heavy Weapons, D Company, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division for a year, where he again drove a tank.  He was very proud of his military service and enjoyed sharing stories of his experiences.  Through the years, he enjoyed traveling each year to his Army reunions in different parts of the country. 

Porter married Betty Jean Miller on August 18, 1950 in Webster Springs, West Virginia.  They moved to Indian Head, Maryland in 1961 when Porter took a job with the government at the Navy Propellant Plant (later Naval Ordnance Station) as a propellant handler.  He worked there until his retirement in 1984.  Over the years, he also worked at Glymont Amoco, Mills Texaco, SMECO replacing street bulbs, and Bryans Road Gulf/Chevron.  He retired for the final time from the Chevron station in 1996 at age 74. 

Porter is survived by his wife, Betty, of 68 years and children; Judith A. Buschman (Bob) of Clarksburg, Maryland, David A. Hamrick (Margaret) of Bryans Road, Maryland, and Sara L. Prebble (Joseph) of Pomfret, Maryland. He was preceded in death by his son, Philip M. Hamrick of Bryans Road, Maryland in 2016.  He is also survived by his nine grandchildren; Jodi, Brian, John, Karen, Jimmy, Johnny, Maria, Darren, and Katie and 16 great-grandchildren.  Porter is also survived by two younger sisters, Ernestine Stephens of Akron, Ohio and Betty Love on Tampa, Florida. 

He was a member of Indian Head Baptist Church where he served as an usher.  Porter was a volunteer fireman most of his life, starting when he was 24.  He was a member in Webster Springs for 11 years and a member of Indian Head Fire Department from 1962 to the present.  He received numerous awards including being inducted into the Southern Maryland Volunteer Fireman’s Association Hall of Fame in 1996 and Firefighter of the Year.  The Indian Head Firefighter of the Year award was renamed “The Porter Hamrick Firefighter of the Year” award in his honor.  He was recognized as the Oldest Active Member in Charles County in 2013.  It gave him pleasure to drive a fire truck or his 1901 Oldsmobile in parades. 

The family will receive friends on Friday, July 5, 2019, at Indian Head Fire Department from 5 PM till the Fireman’s Prayers at 7 PM.  A funeral service will be held on Saturday, July 6, 2019, at Indian Head Baptist Church at 10 AM.  Interment will follow at Trinity Memorial Gardens in Waldorf, Maryland with military honors. 

In lieu of flowers, please make a memorial contribution, in Porter Hamrick’s name, to either the Indian Head Baptist Church (http://www.indianheadbaptistchurch.org/) or the Indian Head Fire Department.

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