Francis Porter is one of many women who worked as a civilian “Rosie the Riviter” during World War II.

Porter, a student at Coffee High School in Florence, married her high school sweetheart in 1943 on his first leave from the Army.

“The superintendent would not allow married students to stay in school at that time because he said that then everyone would be getting married,” Porter said. “That’s when I learned of an Air Force training program in Gadsden at the Alabama School of Trades. There I was trained to be a sheet metal mechanic.”

Porter was sent to Brookley Field in Mobile to work. After her husband was wounded and hospitalized in Atlanta, she worked at a naval air base there until his discharge.

“After that, we came home and both finished school in Russellville, graduating in 1947. All I wanted then was to be a mother and homemaker,” Porter said.

She has three children: Becky, a reading specialist in Headland; Neil, who works for Warehouser in Georgia; and Mark, who works for Nissan in Detroit. She has seven grandchildren.

When her youngest child started school, Porter went to Larimore Business College and worked six years before starting to earn her degree at Northwest Junior College.

Then she attended Florence State, graduating in 1975. She taught kindergarten and then first grade at Colbert Heights for 19½ years.

She earned two more degrees from what is now the University of North Alabama.

“Teaching was the most rewarding work for me, and I’ve always encouraged others to teach,” Porter says. “The best experience was teaching children to read and have the world open up for them.”

Porter has remained active since retirement.

“After retiring, I volunteered at Safeplace in Florence, teaching a child safety program. I also met with a group at Shoals Community College where Colbert Caring Center was born. The most caring and giving people I know are volunteers,” she said.

The Porters have taught water safety in schools and done surveys on park use. They have been on church mission trips to Costa Rica, Jamaica and Louisiana.

Porter has been active in the United Methodist Women’s organization at church. They have made school bags, health kits, sewing kits and baby layettes for a large distribution center in Louisiana.

“Many volunteers come from all over the U.S. to pack, ship and make flood buckets to distribute at a moment’s notice. Some work in the community helping to repair damage to homes and schools. We have learned to love Louisiana, its Cajun people and their food. Our hearts were broken as we saw the devastation after the hurricane,” she said.