Susan Porter Obituary

Susan Webb Porter of Mequon, Wisconsin passed away on August 3rd, 2025.  The daughter of William Seward Webb III and Elizabeth Barroll, Susan was born in New York City on February 2nd, 1936. Her mother remarried civil engineer, Paul Wolfskehl, and the family moved around the country as his work required throughout Susan’s childhood. 

Susan attended Friends Academy & Middlebury College in Vermont where she studied English & Theater Arts.  And that’s where she met her future husband, William “Bill” Porter, whom she married in June of 1959. Somehow, they managed to survive Bill’s 1st year of law school at Cornell University with their newborn son, Sam, arriving during the winter of 1960. From there they moved to the East Side of Milwaukee, WI where three more kids were born and Bill’s law practice gained footing before moving to Mequon, WI in 1971. 

Susan shared a life-long love of reading, art, music, and theater with her children. She was gifted with a natural sensitivity around animals, and they all seemed to thrive under her care. An avid equestrian, she owned and rode several horses through the years. She was a devoted dog and cat fan, adopting several Bassett hounds, black & chocolate labs, as well as a multitude of cats from various shelters. She enjoyed tennis, attending plays and spending weekends walking her dogs in Door County, WI. Card games were a riot with Susan, and she was very clever at solving puzzles of all kinds. Upon beating her husband in chess, she promptly declared her retirement from future competition. 

Susan supported Bill’s passion for motor racing as he campaigned various sports cars in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) throughout the Midwest, quietly holding down the fort through the occasional peaks and inevitable valleys along the way. And it was through their shared journey in motorsports that many of her most valued and enduring friendships were forged. She loved volunteer work, donating 30 years of support to the Washington and Ozaukee County Humane Societies while also committing 40 years of service to the SCCA. She drove a manual transmission car up to the age of 88, had a wonderful smile, a lightning-fast wit, and rarely suffered fools.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Bill, who passed away on April 21, 2006.

She is survived by her brother, William Seward Webb IV (Karen), her brother in-law, James D. Porter Jr (Cate), and her four adult children: Sam, Elizabeth (Doug Purucker), Willy (Catherine Holt) and Tom (Corrie Kramer). She is also loved by her eight grandchildren: Georgia, Indigo, Kate, Liam, Lizzie, Madison, Myles & Owen and her great grandson, Rayland.

A celebratory gathering will be held at Siebkens Resort in Elkhart Lake, WI on Saturday, October 11th 2025 from 11am to 2 pm. 284 S. Lake St., Elkhart Lake, WI 53020

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Susan’s name to one of her favorite charities below:

Shelburne Farms 
Wisconsin Humane Society
World Wildlife Fund

The family wishes to thank the wonderful staff at Newcastle Place in Mequon, WI for their compassion and care.