East Chop Icon John Potter Jr. Led Life of Adventure

Monday, January 6 2014 - 3:28pm

Mr. Potter died Jan. 4 at the age of 89. A retired businessman and former treasure diver, he spent his early childhood years in China and recently wrote a colorful memoir titled My First Nine Lives.

John Potter Jr., a well-known East Chop resident who lived an adventuresome life and wrote a colorful memoir about it titled My First Nine Lives, died unexpectedly on Jan. 4. He was 89.

A retired businessman and former treasure diver, he spent his early childhood years in China. As an adult he lived in Hong Kong where he developed an export-import business with his wife Joan Potter.

Quiet and unassuming on the surface, “what one sees on the bluff is just the current iteration of the man,” wrote Rick Herrick in a story for the Gazette about Mr. Potter’s memoir. “He, like all of us, has a previous story. Or rather many stories.”

The book chronicled his education at St. George’s School and Harvard, his service in the Navy during World War II and his early business career in Asia. It described how as a young boy he was rescued by Buddhist monks who exorcised evil spirits from his body to cure his pneumonia (life number one). “Life number five led to the Chinese civil war where the unassuming fellow was captured by Chinese Communists and interrogated as a spy,” Mr. Herrick wrote in the review.

In his retirement years Mr. Potter became known as an icon of East Chop, where he walked his dog Rocky twice a day around the Chop.

“The dog most likely heard the first draft of this book told amidst howling winds and serene summer days, all witnessed high above the ocean on the bluffs of East Chop,” Mr. Herrick wrote.

John Stauffer Potter Jr. is survived by his wife of 52 years, Joan Coles Potter; his sister Patricia Luce Chapman; his three sons and their spouses John S. Potter 3rd and Susan Silverstein Potter, William N.H. Potter and Kerry Quinlan Potter, and Robert L.C. Potter and Deborah Holtzer Potter; his five grandchildren Charlotte Potter, Samantha Potter, Chesca Potter, Max Potter, and Zak Potter; as well as his many friends and fans of his interesting life. His parents, John Stauffer Potter Sr. and Edna Lee Booker Potter both predeceased him.

Private visitation is pending and a full celebration of his life will be conducted in the summer as a date to be determined. Following cremation, his ashes will be spread in the two areas that he loved most: East Chop and near the Atocha, a treasure ship his book helped to locate in the waters near Key West, Fla.

A full obituary will be published in a future edition of the Gazette.

Comments

Jon, Susan & Family, we are

Darius & Barbara Spain Oak Bluffs, MA

Jon, Susan & Family, we are so sorry for your loss, and hope that everyone can celebrate the life of such an extraordinary man. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.

I worked with John in Hong

Gerry Reidy Fairfield Ct.

I worked with John in Hong Kong in the early '80s He was a good friend and was well liked and respected by all who knew him. As neighbors, John and I car pooled to work each day. The stories that came out during our conversations regarding his previous exploits, are the stuff of legends. I can not think of John and his history without a smile coming to my face. He made our daily commute a fun time. Above all John was a very kind and considerate person; a true gentleman.
My Rose Mary and I send our condolences to Joanie and her sons, particularly to Bells who attended Hong Kong International School with my children.

What a genuinely kind,

Marcia Cini Vineyard Haven, MA

What a genuinely kind, likeable man. He will be sorely missed as much for his humanity as his adventures. Condolences to his whole family, including Joan, Bill, Kerry and Deb.

We were shocked and greatly

Barry & Barry Carroll & family Lake Forest, Illinois

We were shocked and greatly saddened to hear of John's passing. Barry made a wonderful video of an extended conversation on the 3 seasons porch ar Breezy Chop between John, Barry and Jim lodge in October, 13, and it caught him with all his wit and charm. We were all looking forward to the 2nd volume of his book. Barry had read several chapters last summer and we can all expect an even funnier and more exciting romp through
another installment of a full life well lived. Our sympathies to Joan and the family until we can render them personally at this Summer's memorial service.

I met John and Rocky once at

Joyce OB/NY

I met John and Rocky once at the lighthouse. We had a wonderful conversation at it stuck with me over the years. He spoke of his love for his family, his adventures, grandkids/tennis, Rocky.
My sympathy to his family.

So sad to hear about Mr.

Shelly O'Neil Edgartown MA

So sad to hear about Mr. Potter passing. He was an amazing gentleman. My thoughts and prayers go out to the whole family. A very sad time for the Island.

John and I swapped books and

dick pratt edgartown

John and I swapped books and stories for many years---I will miss him but will continue to be in touch with his spirit which was and is immense !! A well travelled path to be sure !

Joan,

Randi Walsh Wellesley, Ma.

Joan,
I am saddened to hear of your husbands passing. What a very interesting person he was. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

My deepest condolences to the

Ann Davis Vineyard Haven

My deepest condolences to the whole family and my many dear friends among them. Mr. Potter was a wonderful man, and the relatively few occasions I was lucky enough to see him, he always made me feel special. May he rest in peace.

So sorry to hear this. I did

mike wallace Oak Bluffs

So sorry to hear this. I did not know him well, but have heard the stories from his son John. What an adventurer! A life well lived. My condolences to his family.

Our deepest condolences to

Joanne Lambert Oak Bluffs

Our deepest condolences to the Potter family, on the loss of this extraordinary man. Joanne & Jeff Lambert

Shocking news! Thinking of

Susan Hughes

Shocking news! Thinking of all of you Joan, John, Rob, Bells and families.

John was such a special

John Straus East Chop

John was such a special person. We have lived next to the Potters since 2002 and always looked forward to our chats with John, whether on our porch or "over the fence". He lived a full life. When he shared his stories with me I saw his modesty. Whether it was about living in China before before people did that or regaling me with treasure hunting stories - you can't make that stuff up! Who else do you know that had experiences like that? As John battled his more recent health issues, Diane would say to me every morning that it will be a sad day when we do not see John walking his Rocky at 8am in front of our house talking up the pretty ladies. It is a sad day today. John, we will miss you.
The Straus Family

It was a real heartbreaker

Ernie Richards, Jr. W. Palm Beach, FL

It was a real heartbreaker when Johnno called me on the morning of the 4th with the sad news about his Dad's passing. Although he was an inspiration to me all my adult life, John and I didn't become friends until recent years. It was such a pleasure for my wife Ellie and me to have visited him and Joanie on the bluff last July after his several trips to work with us in Florida. As part of the "treasure diving community" down here, I can attest to the impact created by John's 1960 book, "The Treasure Diver's Guide" on all of us "ex-pats" here in the "Sunshine State" who followed his lead in seeking our own fortunes. I know I speak for all in our industry when I say that without John and his research and writings, we might have missed finding the "big ones". Our profoundest sympathies go out to the family of one of the nicest people to ever set foot on this planet.
Sincerely, Ernie & Ellie Richards

My thoughts go out to the

Beth Serusa West Tisbury

My thoughts go out to the entire Potter family. I had the fortunate chance to sit with him at the counter at Linda Jeans not to long ago and had a nice chat about the Patriots! He was a kind and gentle man who will be missed by many.

We are saddened to lose such

Friedman Family Oak Bluffs

We are saddened to lose such a treasure. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Potter family. He was such a nice and adventurous man, and such a wealth of knowledge and vigor. He will be missed, seeing him walking in the Neighborhood.

John Potter was a legend, and

Sean Boulton Newport Beach, California

John Potter was a legend, and my parents loved every minute they spent with him. Tim Cavendish-Boulton, Deanna Cavendish Boulton, and all of us blessed enough to be around him were graced by a true adventurer. The nights that John and my Tim stayed up drinking are hallowed stories that people in Hong Kong still talk about. Rest in peace, the gods have a good one on their hands. So many memories.

Sean Boutlon

We were just following the

Fiedler Family Great Meadows, New Jersey

We were just following the news of today's snow storm when we read of John's passing. He was such a wonderful and joyful man. We will always remember him with fondness. Our deepest sympathies to Joanie and the family.

So sorry for your loss. Just

Jeanne Crownover Walnut Creek, CA

So sorry for your loss. Just found out about John today. Very sorry.

John Potter Jr. and his faithful companion Rocky.