Robert Portus

Robert Alan Owston Portus, 84, of Grants Pass died Dec. 29, 2009, at Royale Gardens Health and Rehabilitation Center. Interment with military honors will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Eagle Point National Cemetery. He was born Oct. 14, 1925, in Los Angeles to William and Harriet (Owston) Portus. He served in the Navy from July 19, 1943, until his honorable discharge on April 6, 1946. On Sept. 8, 1951, in Los Angeles, he married Betty Jean Wetle, who died Dec. 14, 1992. For more than 50 years, he worked as a sheet metal worker/fabricator. During the 1960s and 1970s, he made his living as a metal sculptor and artist and was exclusive with the San Francisco Art Gallery. In 1968, he and his wife moved to Grants Pass from Los Gatos, Calif. He was a member and past president of the Los Gatos Community Theatre Group. He also was a member of the National Rifle Association and the Josephine County Sportsman Park. He enjoyed firearms, hunting, motorcycles, drawing, stained glass, woodworking and metalworking. Survivors include two sons, Michael Portus of Grants Pass, and Philip Portus of Kona, Hawaii; two daughters, Nanette Alarie of Grants Pass, and Dianna Rose of Bend; two sisters, Ruth Craig of Oklahoma City, and Kathy Portus of Washington, D.C.; a brother, Michael Portus of Oregon City; his companion, Enyd DuBois of Grants Pass; 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.