Harriette Clay Porter
Marriages
Phil Porter
Obituaries
The Daily Sentinel page 6C - May 14, 2023
On May 8, 2023, Harriette Clay Porter of Oklahoma
City passed away peacefully after a short illness. Harriette
was born in 1946 to Dr. Richard and Bess Clay. She was
a graduate of Vassar College and one of few women in
her class at Tulane University School of Medicine when
she graduated in 1972. Harriette moved to Colorado for a
pediatric residency and started a family, then established
a pediatric practice in Grand Junction in 1979. She was
a dedicated physician, working tirelessly to care for
her patients and their families. In 1995, she returned to
Oklahoma City to be near her parents, and joined the
faculty of OU Medical School where she supervised
residents and worked in community clinics. She retired
in 2017 at 70 years old. When Harriette was not seeing
patients, she was a fierce advocate for social change
and always wanted to make the world a better place.
From organizing fundraising walks, to traveling abroad
for medical missions, from participating in protests, to
writing letters for a cause, she gave her time, resources,
and love to many organizations. She was also an active
member of Channing Unitarian Universalist Church in
Edmond, OK. Harriette was a passionate gardener and
spent many hours in her own garden as well as with
the wonderful people at CommonWealth Urban Farms.
Harriette loved her family, her friends, her dogs, and her
community. Harriette is preceded in death by her father
Richard, her mother Bess, and her husband Phil Porter.
She is survived by her daughter Dr. Christy Clay and
her partner Dr. Brian Avery, stepsons Brian and Jason
Porter and their families, her sister Marty Conkle and
her husband Cliff Conkle, her brother Richard Clay, Jr.
and his wife Marilyn Mirtz, as well as her niece Lindsay
Dorman, nephews Dr. Ryan Conkle and Austin Clay,
and their families. A celebration of Harriette’s life was
held on Saturday, May 13, 2023 at Channing Unitarian
Universalist Church in Edmond, OK. In lieu of flowers,
donations can be made to Commonwealth Urban Farms,
commonwealthurbanfarms.com or Doctors without
Borders, doctorswithoutborders.org.
