Edward Lex Potter

Edward Lex Potter, 92, of Oxford, North Carolina, passed away on January 14, 2025.

Born March 24, 1932, in Kelly, Bladen County, North Carolina, Ed was the son of James Melvin Potter and Gertrude Squires Potter. In 1935, the family moved to Wilmington, NC, where Ed spent much of his early life. Ed was a musician and an avid piano player. At 17, he began his radio career with Potter's Piano Ramblings, a 15-minute daily program on a Wilmington station which featured his piano playing and commentary.

Ed graduated from the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in 1952. In 1956 he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the first blind student in its Department of Radio, Television, and Motion Pictures. He was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and the Order of the Golden Fleece.

For thirteen years, Ed worked in radio at WRRZ in Clinton, WTSB in Lumberton, and WENC in Whiteville, NC. Ed completed a Master's degree in Speech Communications at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1973. He taught Public Speaking at Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, NC, retiring in 1997.

Ed enjoyed a large network of friends in the blind community. Beginning in 1979, he created Playback Magazine, Playback Underground, and Coffee with Ed, audio publications on cassette and message boards. These relied on content from listeners, uniting his network of close friends with common interests. From 1979 to 2007, Ed and Sue ran Playback Marketing, an audio catalog for the visually impaired. It featured a tone-indexing system that enabled listeners to shop independently.

In 2017, Ed and Sue moved next door to their daughter and son-in-law in Oxford, NC, where they enjoyed nightly dinners together.

Ed is survived by his wife, Sue Washington Owen Potter; his children, Margaret Sue Potter Harris (Larry "Sonny") of Oxford, NC, and Edward Andrew Potter of Raleigh, NC; his grandchildren, Cecilia Thomas Harris (Naser Shamma), Jacob Aaron Harris (Morgan Trick), Larry Harris (Jenny), and Jessica Harris; and seven great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother, James Sedric Potter, and his sister, Nelva Hammonds, both of Wilmington, NC.

A celebration of his life was held on Monday, January 20, 2025 at 1:00 at Oxford Presbyterian Church in Oxford, NC with visitation after the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Oxford Presbyterian Church (https://oxfordpres.org/give/) or Friends of the North Carolina Accessible Books and Library Services (https://www.friendsnclbph.org/donate.php).