HARRY PORTWOOD

04/29/1947 - 01/28/2024

Harry Clayton Portwood, 76, of Hunt, Texas, passed away suddenly on January 28, 2024 at his home. Born in Fort Worth, Texas to Charles Wayne Portwood and Mary Josephine Emmons Portwood on April 29, 1947, he married Laura Steeples on August 1, 1970 in Walnut Creek, Calif.

He graduated from Fort Worth’s Arlington Heights High School in 1965, Texas Christian University (B.S., 1969) and the University of Kentucky (M.S., 1973). He served as a church organist, taught physics at St. John’s School from 1978 to 1982, worked as an Exxon geophysicist, and returned to St. John’s in 1993 as a physics and astronomy teacher.

A dedicated teacher and mentor, he received numerous awards at St. John’s and Exxon. Among his proudest accomplishments was his role in establishing the observatory at Camp Honey Creek upon his retirement in 2006. But his lifelong passion was music. Talented on the piano, organ, and cornet, he also enjoyed membership in the Lexington Singers. His most recent projects were sharing his cornet and piano with his grandchildren and organizing his vast music collection for future generations.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Donald Wayne Portwood. Survivors include his wife, Laura, of Hunt; daughters, Mary Elizabeth “Ellie” McVicar (Josiah) and Martha Amanda Barrow (Justin); and grandchildren, Elias Remington McVicar, Dodge Hummel McVicar, Margaret Josephine Barrow, Laura Jane Barrow, and Juliet Winifred Barrow, all of Houston.

Memorials may be given to the Hill Country Youth Ranch, the Dietert Center, the Riverside Nature Center or the charity of choice.

Condolences may be sent at www.grimesfuneralchapels. com.

Arrangements are entrusted to Grimes Funeral Chapels of Kerrville.