Mary Porter “Juanita” West, 97, of Bethany, Oklahoma, passed away 8 October 2026. She was a retired missionary who served for 41 years in Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Venezuela, and Spain.
Mary Juanita Blake was born in Telephone, Texas, 1 March 1929, to Frank and Evah Blake, the youngest of three daughters. She was blessed with godly parents who taught her early on the importance of loving and serving God.
It was the dream of this young family, coming out of the Great Depression, that their three girls should learn to play the piano (they learned enough to be able to play at local Nazarene churches) and attend Bethany Peniel College (now Southern Nazarene University).
They saw this second dream fulfilled as all the girls attended BPC. Juanita graduated in 1949. There, she met and married William “Bill” Porter on 24 August 1948.
Over the years, Juanita served as a partner in her husband’s ministry, a good cook, piano player, thoughtful hostess, proficient secretary, and efficient financial manager. Juanita and Bill were gifted at nurturing and mentoring young couples. Bill, an elder in the Church of the Nazarene, first served as pastor in Galveston, Texas, from 1950-51, then at the Spanish American Bible Institute in San Antonio, Texas, until 1954.
In 1954, Bill and Juanita were appointed as missionaries for the Church of the Nazarene; in July of that year, they went to Puerto Rico with their 5-year-old son, Jerry Porter. Their son John was born in 1955.
Bill and Juanita served in Puerto Rico for 22 years, followed by four years in New Zealand. In 1982, they were appointed to open work for the Church of the Nazarene in Venezuela, where they served for nine years.
After retiring to Bethany, Oklahoma, in 1992, they served one year as interim missionaries in Spain. In Oklahoma, they remained active in their church, especially in Hispanic ministries. Juanita also worked part-time in the Southwest Oklahoma District office for 15 years.
Bill passed away in 2004. Later, Juanita married Ralph West, former pastor and long-time superintendent of the Louisiana District on 13 February 2010. Together they served in the Association of Retired Ministers and Missionaries (ARMM), ministering to retired Nazarene ministers.
Juanita was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years, Bill Porter; her husband of 10 years, Ralph West; sisters, Velma Cotton and Wilma Mahannah; and granddaughter, Amy Jo Porter.
She is survived by sons, Jerry Porter and John Porter; four grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
She is also survived by Ralph’s family: son Larry West; daughter Cindy Cagle; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, October 16, at Bethany, Oklahoma First Church of the Nazarene. A viewing will be available just before the service, from 9-9:45 a.m. Interment will follow in Bethany Cemetery.
A livestream of the funeral service will be available at this link.