On Saturday, January 2, the auction industry lost a renowned and respected friend when Tom Porter, former co-owner of Garth’s Auctions, died at Mount Carmel West Hospital after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 75.
In 1967, Garth Oberlander tripled the staff of his small but mighty auction company from one to three when he hired Tom and Carolyn Porter. Little did he know that their modest beginnings would grow into one of the most well-respected auction firms in the country.
Born on April 16, 1934, in Ironton, Ohio, Tom married Carolyn Bemiller in 1957. In the early years of their marriage, the Porters began to buy antiques while stationed at Fort Meade, Md., to furnish their apartment on a limited budget. “We started haunting antiques shops,” Porter told a local newspaper in a 1981 interview. “Within 18 months we bought enough furniture to furnish an apartment.”
From there, the Porters only began to build. Tom worked as a salesman by day and a picker by night †often coming home to their four daughters as Carolyn went out to continue the buying and selling efforts. Their faithful attendance at Garth’s Auctions in Delaware, Ohio, combined †undoubtedly †with their professional and fair approach, brought them to Oberlander’s attention.
Throughout his more than 40 years of involvement with Garth’s, Tom Porter became well known for his quick wit, depth of knowledge, auctioneering and wonderful stories. Jeff and Amelia Jeffers, Porter’s business partners and successors at Garth’s, describe a friend and a mentor. “Tom always had a smile on his face. He was a guy who had some wonderful, very positive perspectives on a lot of different things. This is a sad day for everyone here.”
Both Tom and Carolyn have remained active with Garth’s during their retirement.
For many years, Tom was a primary contributor to the popular HGTV series The Appraisal Fair. He was an active member of the Delaware community, having served on boards of the Delaware County Bank, Grady Memorial Hospital, the Delaware County Historical Society and Delaware County Cultural Arts Center. He was a US Army and National Guard veteran and a 32nd degree Scottish Rite mason, Valley of Columbus.
Tom is survived by his wife, Carolyn (Bemiller) of Upper Arlington, Ohio; four daughters, Helen, Sally, Sammi Flynn and her husband Tom, and Susie; four grandchildren, Atticus, Caleb, and Olivia Jack and Luke Flynn; a sister, Marjorie Ellen Payne of Newark, Ohio; and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service was conducted on January 9 at Rodman Neeper Funeral Home in Delaware. An additional memorial service is being planned at Garth’s Auctions in Delaware in mid-May.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the Delaware County Historical Society, 157 East William Street, Delaware OH 43015 or Hospice at Grady, 551 West Central Avenue, Delaware OH 43015.
