Gerald "Gary" Potter
Gary Potter had a deep love for farming, but more importantly he cherished his family.
Gerald “Gary” Dean Potter, 74, was born May 24, 1950, Yakima, Wash., to Leonard and Helen Potter.
He was the youngest of four children. His family moved to the Columbia Basin area in the early 1950s, eventually settling in Royal City, Wash.
Gary enjoyed playing pool at Dave’s Rec Hall, hanging out with his older brother, Lynn, and working on the farm. Gary was in the first class to attend all four years at the new Royal High School, graduating in 1968.
After graduating, Gary moved to Yakima to try a different line of work where he met his future wife, Cathy. They were engaged after three months of dating and married eight months later. Shortly after getting married, they moved back to the Royal City area because of his love of farming and the friends in this community.
"You can take the man out of the farm, but you can't take the farming out of the man!"
Gary worked for Randy Allred for a few years then had an opportunity to grow potatoes like his dad and Uncle Ray had done. He worked for Sunfresh for more than 20 years, managing potato production. During this time, he found a new joy in life becoming a private pilot and logging in excess of 3,000 hours in a variety of airplanes. After Sunfresh, he worked for B&G Farms for another 23 years, retiring in in 2023.
Gary met a lot of people he respected in the farming industry, whether it was salesmen, equipment operators, or co-workers. He always tried to get along with everyone.
Gary loved spending time with his family. He enjoyed teaching his three kids how to water ski. His white and yellow Cobalt was one of his prides for many years. He loved golfing, camping in the mountains and riding the side by side in the hills. He loved his family and always participated in any games brought before him ... Volleyball, corn hole and Texas Hold Em were some of his favorites because he was good at them all!
He also loved watching his grandchildren in all their activities.
He would proudly say, “That’s MY grandkid” with a big smile on his face.
Gary and Cathy were married 52 years and built their legacy by hard work and loving their family.
Gary is survived by his wife Cathy Potter of Royal City, sons Travis Potter of Medical Lake and Todd Potter of Spokane, daughter Carrie Sullivan and her husband Dan of West Richland. They have six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Gary passed away Sept. 1, 2024, at his home surrounded by his family. He is greatly missed!
A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, at 2 p.m. at the Haven Event Center, 2587 Road 10 SW, Royal City, WA.
Please express your thoughts and memories at https://bit.ly/GaryPotter. Arrangements are under the care of Kayser's Chapel of Memories.