D. GORDON POTTS

03.19.2021 AROUND THE ISLAND `We were each other´s everything´: A remembrance of D. Gordon Potts By Janet Roach ON OUR FIRST date, he took me to Home Depot. I´d never been to Home Depot, but I know rapture when I see it. And rapture it was. Gordon was filling his eyes with tools and buckets and motor oil as we marched toward the toilet tanks, the object of this particular exercise. We were unloading his purchases in a pelting rain when the phone rang inside his Little Ram Island...

Gordon and my mother Alison were cousins - as mum used to say - "my favourite cousin". Gordon's father Les and mum's father Bert were brothers and served together in France in WW1 with the New Zealand Army. As I understand, they were both wounded at the Somme and Bert carried Les to safety on his back. From there they both went to the Potts family farm in Ireland to recover, although Les lost a leg consequent on his wounds. On return to NZ both brothers acquired dairy farms. Les's wife Vera...

Ian and I met Gordon and Janet at Fern Hill not long after they built their cottage there. Ian used to assist Gordon with planting the gardens and Olive Trees and there was always Janet's summer garden of herbs , tomatoes etc. Gordon lived in Morrinsville when he was a lad and used to catch a train to go to College in Hamilton. I used to go to the same college ( a bit later than Gordon) and we would have chats about , the trains, the teachers, how cold the winters were. Ian and I often...

My first memory of Gordon was when he came round to Baldwin Road, when I was visiting Janet, and he was coming to pick from her garden one summer evening....I knew something was up. You could feel the crackle of electricity...of something in the offing....that summer proved to be the cementing of a love that became 2 decades of marriage and adventure. Gordon´s love of the land and sea - whether New Zealand or Shelter Island - was what bonded them. The bounty that they gave to others -...

Gillian and I have many fond memories visiting Janet and Gordon while at our home on Shelter.Their love foreach other was always wonderful. We miss our Kiwi neighbour.I also can not forget the outstanding contribution Gordon made in the field on neurological imaging.Truly amazing. Rest In Peace Gordon

Many of you have heard this story before but I will tell it again because it says so much about the life and love that Gordon and Janet shared. I was kayaking in Doubtless Bay and noticed this charming little cove with a charming little batch (vacation cabin in US speak). I was entranced. I decided I had to see this place and meet these folks. So..... I poured my water bottle into the sea and went ashore to beg water for a parched seafarer. I was, of course, met with compassion,...

Thinking back to Sundays on Shelter Island relaxing with Gordon and Janet. The crossword puzzle must already be finished. . . .

Claire, my wife, expressed earlier here exactly what we all feel in the family.
The memories we have with Gordon and Janet are unforgettable and describe exactly who they were and the truth of their life together.
They have been essential to our three children during summer time on Shelter Island and we remember each simple and precious moment we shared with them including the barbecues on the terrace, the crab baskets and the gull we would feed from the deck.
Life is...