Luana Portch, 82

Luana Lee Portch, 82 passed away suddenly on Saturday, October 15, 2016. Luana was born March 22, 1934 in Peru Nebraska to Floyd and Irene Ivers. In 1943 the family moved to Camp Hanford. Then in 1945 they moved into the 3-bedroom Prefab in Richland where she grew up. She attended Marcus Whitman Elementary, Carmichael and Columbia High, and graduated in 1952. After graduation she went to work for GE in the 700 Areas, then later moved to the 100 Areas where she met Bill Portch.  They were married on May 24, 1958, and spent 58 wonderful years together. They had one daughter in October of 1959. Luana was an avid bowler for 40+ years and met many lifetime friends. She was a faithful Richland Bomber Booster, one of the principal organizers of the Class of ’52 reunions, and a member of Club 40. You could find Luana every Friday at Sterlings for the Bomber luncheons. She was the essence of “Once a Bomber, Always a Bomber”.

Luana and Bill enjoyed camping (she loved her marshmallows!!) and day hiking into her sixties until unfortunately her knees gave out. Their favorite hikes were Bear Creek Mtn and throughout the Goat Rocks in the Washington Cascades; and in the Wallowa Mtns in Oregon where they loved to camp. Their favorite place to travel was to the Canadian Rockies and spending time around Moraine Lake.  Luana had an extreme passion for all sports, with one early favorite of following auto racing around the northwest.  She never missed her daughter’s track and gymnastics meets; and once her grandchildren became involved in sports, nothing could keep her away. You would find her on the sidelines for all their sporting events whether it was 105, -10, rain, snow, or 50mph winds. She loved those girls so much and was their #1 fan. She quickly became “grandma” to many other girls on the teams. Can’t forget those Tri-City Americans, which became a major part of her life as a season ticket holder for 27 years. Another hobby was her love of gambling. She and Bill would take trips quite often to Reno, and she and her friends would visit Legends and Wildhorse.

 Luana’s most cherished memories were times spent with family for holidays, birthday celebrations and special events. One of her favorite times was the cruise to Alaska with her family. She was loved by so many and had more friends than anyone could count. Luana was the most beautiful, loving, thoughtful, selfless, compassionate and “stubborn” person you could ever meet.

 Luana is survived by her husband Bill, daughter Terri (Scott) Robertson; Grandchildren Karissa (Brad) Senner; Serena Robertson; Great-Grandson Brayden Senner; brother Russell (JoAnn) Ivers; sister Kaye Ivers; and numerous extended family. She is preceded in death by her parents and brother Bruce Ivers.

The family invites you to join the Celebration of Life for this amazing women on Monday, October 24, 2016 at 2:00pm at Einan’s Event Center. Viewing held from 12-2.