Longtime ABC7 personality Harry Porterfield remembered during memorial service
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A public memorial service was held Sunday for our former colleague here at ABC7, the great Harry Porterfield.
His long and ground-breaking career in broadcast journalism included a 24-year stint here at Channel 7, where he featured his popular segment entitled "Someone You Should Know."
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Porterfield died last month of natural causes at the age of 95, surrounding by his family in Munster, the family statement said.
Sunday's memorial service began at Saint James Cathedral on East Huron Street in River North at 3 p.m.
Friends, family, fans and former colleagues celebrated Porterfield's life, and it was a tribute fitting for a Chicago news legend.
Porterfield spent 51 years on television in Chicago.
He spent a lot of his broadcast life digging into stories about regular people and highlighting their often unappreciated or unknown accomplishments.
He understood that these kinds of stories were often overlooked and needed to be told.
Porterfield was a trailblazer, earning dozens of awards throughout his distinguished career.
Many of his former colleagues have called him a consummate professional, who inspired everyone in the newsroom to be a better person.
Former ABC7 Chicago sports anchor Jim Rose spoke Sunday.
"Harry Porterfield was my Jackie Robinson. Here's why. He handled his business with such calmness and with such professionalism. And he was a beacon," Rose said.
Eric Porterfield also spoke.
"Harry was a news man who took being a news man very seriously. And he truly loved his work," Porterfield said. "Never coloring what he reported. Just a stable, impartial voice that people trusted and respected for over 50 years."
Porterfield is survived by a wife of 55 years, four children, one grandchild and a great grandchild.
