A former Galesburg resident who was a lifelong political activist, downtown advocate and the first ever female to serve on the Knox County Board has died.
Caroline (Andrews) Porter of Springfield, formerly of Galesburg, died on Saturday, July 12, 2025, at Memorial Hospital in Springfield. She was 89.
She served three terms on the Knox County Board starting in 1973, breaking gender barriers, and later became the first executive director of the Galesburg Downtown Village Council in 1975, helping the city earn its initial “Main Street Project Award” from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Porter’s activism included membership in the League of Women Voters and involvement with government commissions, complemented by her academic achievements—a degree from Knox College and a master’s in political science from Western Illinois University in 2007, where she also lectured at Monmouth College.
Obituary: Caroline A. Porter ~ March 30, 1936 — July 12, 2025
Her professional life spanned business offices and insurance, but she gained prominence as a writer, founding “Caroline Porter Ideas” in 1989, contributing to the Rock Island Argus, Quad-City Times, and authoring the award-winning book As Life Gets Funnier in 1995, alongside a weekly “In My Opinion” column for the Zephyr from 1999 to 2008. She was named 2002 Communicator of Achievement by the Illinois Woman’s Press Association.
Porter was active in her church, Prairie Players, Community Chorus, Knox County Democrats, and Knox College Alumni Council, all in Galesburg.
Surviving are her daughters Jean and Eva Goltermann, son Neil Goltermann, brother James Andrews, three grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her first husband, John Goltermann, and second husband, W. Dale Porter, who died in 2008.
A memorial visitation is scheduled from 10-11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2, at Watson Thomas Funeral Home and Crematory in Galesburg, followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m., with burial at Alexis Cemetery next to her late husband.
