Frank Potts

Frank Potts, M.B.E. July 12, 1915--May 23, 2004 Frank Potts, M.B.E. July 12, 1915--May 23, 2004 Frank Potts of Fountain Hills passed away after a short illness on May 23, surrounded by family members. Born in Derby, England, Mr. Potts was reared by his mother and older siblings after his father died on the front lines of France during World War I. Prior to entering World War II with the Sherwood Foresters, Mr. Potts worked as an apprentice and test engineer at Rolls Royce. After service in North Africa, he was assigned to Malta where he received a battlefield commission and commanded anti-aircraft batteries on the island. The island of Malta received the heaviest sustained bombing in history and Frank Potts contributed to the success of the Allies in overcoming the Germans and Italians in the Mediterranean theater of war. King George V granted him an order of knighthood as a Member of the Order of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace for his service to England and the Allies in Malta. After being wounded with medical evacuation to England and subsequent recuperation, he was assigned to work with the British Army Staff in Washington, D.C., arriving on the HMS Queen Mary in 1944. In the United States he became the Acting Director, North America, for the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. At the end of the war he was discharged as a Major from the British Army and relocated to Canada. In Canada, Mr. Potts worked as a mechanical superintendent for the nation's largest bus/coach fleet and supervised major construction projects in northern Quebec as the Chief Engineer for Canada's largest road contractor. He later managed the primary factory branch for the White Motor Company in Canada. He and his family moved to Pennsylvania in 1957 where he joined Autocar Trucks and continued in the trucking industry in New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin until his first retirement in 1973. He subsequently developed industrial real estate in Florida before finally settling in Arizona in 1983. After his retirement in Arizona he was active restoring cars and working on various projects, which included the award of a patent for a passive auxiliary cooler for automatic transmissions. Mr. Potts was also an active Rotarian, Shriner, and a longtime member of the Fountain Hills International Club. He is survived by his wife, Ginny (Timmers) Potts, who has been his steadfast companion for the last eight years. He was preceded in death by Beatrice, his loving wife of 49 years and mother of their three surviving sons, Frank Jr., Robert (and Virginia, his wife), Jack (and Karen, his wife), and his four grandchildren, Carter, Ashley, Shannon and Jackson. He is also survived by his first wife, Rita, and their two sons, Boyd (and Jenny, his wife), Mick (and Joy, his wife), his grandson, Jon (and Sarah, his wife), and his great-grandchildren Benjamin and Daniel, all of whom reside in England. He will be loved and remembered by all those he touched over 88 years. He will always be a part of their lives. A celebration of his life will be held at 4:00 P.M. on June 12, 2004 at the Fountain Hills Community Center (13001 N. La Montana). In lieu of flowers please donate to the Salvation Army, which has been such a support for those in need now and during past wars