Friends Remember Porter Wagoner

10/29/2007 Stephen L. Betts In January of 2005, Bobby Bare and Porter Wagoner spent weeks fishing together down in Florida. Bobby recalls that trip fondly, and told The Tennessean that he regretted he didn’t get to see his friend at the end. “I just got back from being out of town, and I’d told [my wife] Jeannie that I was going to see Porter tomorrow,” Bobby said the night Porter passed away. “If you saw Porter on TV, you get a glimpse of the heart of every country music singer,” he said. Yeah, man, he loved it.” “I went over on Sunday afternoon and spent his last few hours with Porter and his family, so I was able to say goodbye,” says Dolly Parton. “I sang for him and prayed with him. It felt good that I had the opportunity to say goodbye properly. His family is very grateful to everyone for all their help.” “He has been the face of the Opry, and deservedly so, since Mr. (Roy) Acuff died,” offers fellow Opry star and Hall of Famer Bill Anderson. “When Mr. Acuff died (in 1992), it was the end of an era. I feel that way [now], too. He was so important, because of what he did, who he was and what he stood for. He was a good one. When I was just a disc jockey in Commerce, GA, he was the only Grand Ole Opry star that ever came and visited me at the station.” “Porter was my mentor in the early years of my musical journey and over the years became like family to me,” says Patty Loveless. “He encouraged me and helped me to fulfill my dreams and was truly and inspiration.  I love him and I miss him already.”  Dierks Bentley says he visited Porter in the hospital on Tuesday (10/23). “He led us in a prayer. He thanked God for friends, family and the Grand Ole Opry. This is a great loss for country music and the Grand Ole Opry. It’s also a great loss for me personally because he was a friend I was really just getting to know. I feel blessed for the time I did have with him.”