Charles J. Potter

Charles Joseph "Joe" Potter, 78, died peacefully at home on August 22, 2003. There will be a memorial service celebrating Joe's life on Wednesday, August 27, at 10:30 a.m. at Unity Church of Overland Park, 10300 Antioch, Overland Park, Kansas 66212. Joe was born on October 3, 1924 in Manhattan, Kansas, to Lola Kathleen McComas Potter and Stephen Lee Potter. While part of his youth was spent in Liberty, Missouri, he graduated in 1941 from Central High School in Kansas City lettering in football and track. Throughout his adult life Joe kept in close touch with his many high school friends and actively supported the Central High School Alumni Association. Joe attended Kansas City Junior College and the University of Missouri at Columbia where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1943. During World War II, he was a Signalman in the Navy and was with the amphibious forces that landed in the assault wave during the battle of Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. After the war, he graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He worked three years as an engineer with the Great Lakes Pipeline Company in Kansas City before discovering his life's work. For 30 years he achieved notable success as a special agent for the Prudential Life Insurance Company. He was a Charter Life Underwriter. Joe measured the success of his life by his faith in Jesus Christ, by his great love for his family and by his deep loyalty to his many friends. He was a member of Unity on the Plaza and more recently, Unity Church of Overland Park. In his younger years, for Unity on the Plaza, he was a member of the Board of Directors, a Sunday School Teacher, and a 14-year coach of their little league baseball team. Joe was a devoted reader of "The Daily Word" and the "Christian Science Quarterly" for more than 40 years and he tried to live his life by the leading of the Holy Spirit. He was a graduate of a two year prescribed course of study given by the Unity School of Practical Christianity. In later years he enjoyed worldwide travels which included "snowbirding" many winters in Sanibel and Naples, Florida. He was a longtime member of the Homestead Country Club and more recently a member of the Estes Park, Colorado, Summer Residence Association. He loved hiking the trails of Rocky Mountain National Park and was very proud of climbing Long's Peak. His fun loving nature and sense of humor never left him, even in his last days. He is survived by his loving wife, soul mate, and friend for 55 years, Dorothy Wood Potter; son, Joe Potter and wife, Linda, Shawnee, KS; daughter, Beth Carlson and husband, Ed, Overland Park, KS; daughter, Judy Henderson, Naples, Florida; and daughter, Dr. Pam Truman and husband, Gil, Overland Park, Kansas. Also surviving are ten grandchildren, Anna and Laura Potter, Elliott and Evan Carlson, Kristen and Charlotte Henderson, Zachary Henderson Potter, and Joe, Loretta, and Rosemary Truman. The family wishes to thank the caring and competent staff of Overland Park Regional Medical Center and particularly the Intensive Care Unit for their many kindness' during Joe's three week stay. The family is also very thankful to Kansas City Hospice for its invaluable and gracious support these past two weeks. For those wishing to honor the memory of Joe, the family suggests contributions to Kansas City Hospice, 1625 W. 92nd Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64114 or to Unity Church of Overland Park. (Arrangements: Mt. Moriah & Freeman Chapel (816) 942-2004)