Loretta “Lori” Irene(Back, Beard) Porter died on Wednesday, June 26th, 2013 after a 15 month battle with small cell lung cancer.

Lori was born in St. Louis, on December 2, 1947 to the late Charles and Dora Ruth(Alcorn) Back. She lived in Ferguson, MO until 1958, when the family moved to St. Charles, MO. She graduated from St. Charles High School in 1966, and promptly joined the U.S. Air Force where she met her first husband. In late 1967, she got married and was discharged from the service. In 1968, she gave birth to her first daughter, the late Angela L. Beard. In 1971, she gave birth to a stillborn son, Jacob W. Beard, Jr. Later, she divorced, returned home, and went to St. Charles Beauty School. She was a hairdresser for 13 years.

In December of 1974, she married a long-time friend from the Air Force and moved to England where her youngest child, Lezli A. Porter, was born in 1977. Returning to the U.S. in 1978, she divorced again in 1984. She moved home to St. Charles at the end of 1985, and went to real estate school. In 1987, she moved to St. Peters, MO where she would remain for the rest of her life. She sold real estate and had her own cleaning business. Her grandchild, Collin J. Beard Baker, was born in late 1992.

Lori was devastated when her oldest died in a car crash in the summer of 1995. When her youngest left for college that fall, she decided to do the same. Her lifelong passion for writing was rekindled while she was a student. In 1998, she earned her associates degree from St. Charles Community College, where she began working in April of the following year. Also in 1999, she self-published a book of family recipes and memories. While in Seattle, WA, before her 2011 Alaskan cruise, she fell in love with the city and decided to retire there in 2013. In April of 2012, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and would never return to work or Seattle. Her illness forced her to retire early from the Continuing Education department in September, after 13.5 years. The following January, the lung cancer returned and metastasized to her brain. She decided to end treatment in March of 2013 and live out the rest of her life at her home, with help from the staff of Crossroads Hospice.

She loved puzzles & games, television & movies, writing & reading, music & singing, beer, traveling, the Dallas Cowboys, ghost trips, friends & family, and Elvis Presley.

Lori was loved by many co-workers, friends, neighbors, and family. She will be missed by: her daughter Lezli and son-in-love, Matthew Williams; her grandson Collin; sister Karen Gallagher(Tim Voss); nephew Steven Back(Brook Ashcraft); best friend Patt McMullon(Mike) and everyone that ever met her.

At her request, a funeral party will be held on Saturday, July 27, 2013 beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Grand Oak Hill Community Corporation in St. Louis, MO. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the following organizations: Lung Cancer Connection, Cancer Support Community of Greater St. Louis, Lung Cancer Alliance, or National Lung Cancer Partnership.