Obituary of Thomas Edward Potts

POTTS - Thomas Edward March 23, 1926 to May 10, 2011 Tom was born to Thomas and Mary Potts on the homestead in Rich Valley. He attended Rich Valley School until Grade 8 and then worked on the farm with his father and brother Bob. When times were tough Tom took on winter jobs such as driving city bus in Prince Albert or working at the Burns Meat plant. Tom and Bob bought a brush cutter in 1950 and built a well-recognized road building business along with maintaining the farm. In 1971 Bob took control of the road construction and Tom took over the farm which eventually included 13 quarters of land and a herd of Angus cattle. In 1951 Tom married Lillian Stephens. They farmed in the Rich Valley District where they raised their three daughters. Tom enjoyed spending time at the cabin at Waskesiu Lake and spent many hours fishing with the family and Buffy. Tom and Lil cherished their 18 winters spent in Phoenix and the many friendships forged there. They retired to Shellbrook in 1990. Tom was very community minded and served on: Shellbrook Co-op Board, Shellbrook Chamber of Commerce, Shellbrook RM Council, St. Andrew's Anglican Church Vestry and as both Wardens, Shellbrook Recreation Associaiton, Parkland Housing Co., and Shellbrook Masonic Lodge #171. During his terms with these associations he was involved with the building committees for the Shellbrook Co-op, current St. Andrew's Church, Shellbrook Centennial Municipal Building, Shellbrook Recreation Centre, Parkland Terrace Care Home, and Shellbrook Masonic Temple. Thomas leaves to cherish his memory, his wife of 59 years, Lillian; his children Shirley (Ron) Osarchuk of Shellbrook, Sandra (John) Stochmanski of Saskatoon, and Shelley Crawford (Louis Perrin) of Rosthern; his grandchildren Shari Crawford of Shellbrook, Evan Crawford of Fort McMurray, Jonathan Stochmanski of Saskatoon, and Joylynn Stochmanski and great-granddaughter Shawna of Saskatoon. Tom is also survived by his brother Robert (Marie) Potts of Saskatoon and numerous neices and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents Thomas and Mary Potts, his in-laws Bill and Doris Stephens, and a sister-in-law Winona Potts. The funeral service was held at St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Shellbrook on Friday, May 13 at 1:00 pm. The service was officiated by Father Stephen Harnish and the Euglogy was given by Derek Potts. Paulbearers were Allan Weiss, Verne Helm, Derek Potts, Kevin Potts, George Harrison, and Ed Sokolowski. Honorary Paulbearers were all his friends and relatives. Dave Hjertaas played the organ and the Shellbrook Community Choir led the congregation in song. Memorial donations may be made to St. Andrew's Anglican Church or the Shellbrook and Districts Health Services Project. Internment was in Memorial Gardens, Prince Albert in the Garden of the Last Supper.