Robert Marshall "Bob" Potter

Robert (Bob) Marshall Potter was born September 11, 1920 in Indianapolis, Indiana, to William and Ruth (Marshall) Potter. He passed away peacefully in Redwood City, CA, on January 19, 2017 at the age of 96, surrounded by loving family and caregivers.
Bob was a consummate scientist, a passionate family man, and a late-blooming artist. Bob grew up in Glenview, Illinois, received a BS in Chemistry from Northwestern University, and studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. He joined the Army when the War broke out, and was assigned to Los Alamos, New Mexico, where he was involved with the Manhattan Project during WWII.
Bob returned to Illinois after the war, met the Love of his Life, Marilyn Moran, and returned with his new bride to Los Alamos where they raised a family of five children. He was happiest when he was behind the wheel of a car, and he and Marilyn created many memories for their family, driving them to most of the 50 states in his makeshift RV (Yellow Bird). He was a lover of nature and camping, spending many years as a Boy Scout leader, helping young men experience the wonders of the outdoors in the Los Alamos area.
Bob had a reputation for being in the right place, at the right time. As a young boy, he shook hands with pro golfer Bobby Jones, was at the baseball game where Babe Ruth pointed to the outfield before hitting his famous homerun, and saw Jesse Owens at a pre-trial race for the 1936 Olympics. As an adult, Bob also witnessed the first H-bomb test at the Bikini Atoll, and at the ripe age of 90, was awarded the Clean Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the San Francisco Business Times in 2010.
Bob had a fulfilling career at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico where he received the honor of Lab Fellowship in 1982. He was actively involved with isotope separation, and then served as one of the leading scientists on the Hot Dry Rock geothermal project in the 1970's. He continued his passion for science well into his 90's as the co-founder of Potter Drilling, a start-up clean tech company founded on his drilling concepts pertinent to geothermal energy. Bob dedicated his career to making our planet a cleaner and safer place to live.
He moved to California in 2008, and lived at Brookdale Assisted Living, where he made many new friends with his outgoing personality and interests in art and science. Bob was blessed to have been cared for by the Brookdale staff, Pathways Hospice, and especially by his kind caregivers Gloria, Christine and Clara.
Bob was pre-deceased by his parents, his brother, William Potter, his loving wife, Marilyn (d. 2002), and son Jeffrey (d.2015). He is survived by son, Stephen (Sydney) of Tijeras, NM, daughter Christine Pugh of Arcada, CA, son Jared (Cathy) of San Carlos, CA, daughter-in-law Debby Potter of Albuquerque, NM, daughter Elizabeth (Rodney) Niccum of Twin Falls, Idaho, 11 grandchildren, 12 greatgrandchildren, many nieces and nephews including Mark (Nanette) Potter of Clovis, CA.
Private services will be held at a later date. Any donations in Bob's memory should be made to either Smile Train c/o 41 Madison Avenue 28th Floor, NY, NY 10010, Smiletrain.org, or Pathways Hospice c/o Pathways Foundation, 585 North Mary Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94085, Pathwayshealth.org.
Robert "Bob" Potter
September 11, 1920 - January 19, 2017
Redwood City