James Emmett Potter

James “Jim” Emmett Potter (64) born August 6, 1959, passed into glory on October 8, 2023, in Lubbock, Texas. Jim was always quick to help and laughed easily. He enjoyed the outdoors and spent as much time as he could exploring his community on foot. He worked many years with Lubbock Parks and Recreation keeping the city parks clean and trim. 

A big part of Jim’s life was faithfully attending and serving One Accord Fellowship, led by Pastor Sam Medina. The men in his Sunday school class - Steve Parrish, Justo Delgado, Bradley Morton, and Dale Hymes - could always count on a good cup of hot coffee when they arrived to study. Always faithful to serve others, Jim would stay late every week to clean and straighten the classroom, then pass out the bulletins before church. If he saw something that needed to be done, he did it without being asked.

Jim enjoyed meeting new people and making new connections with others. He was always good to point out the positive about new acquaintances and was quick to call them friends. Jim was a lovable person and loved others well from the beginning to the end.

As described by friends, Jim was dependable, reliable, responsible; happy, content, remarkable; a man of few words, unless he had something to say to you. Many who knew him would echo the words of his pastor, Sam Medina, “I’m a better person for having known Jim.”

Jim proved to be a fighter when, at six months old, he was bitten by a mosquito and hospitalized for two weeks. He contracted encephalitis and developed cerebral palsy and epilepsy. However, he did not let his disabilities stop him. At 14-years-old, he moved to Lubbock State School. Later, he moved to dorm living with MHMR, where he learned life skills that allowed him to progress to group home living with five other men and a house parent. Eventually, he moved to independent living with three men in an apartment complex. Finally, he gained complete independence and lived on his own for the last thirty years of his life.

Jim is preceded in death by his father Kenneth Earl Potter, Sr.; his sister, Linda Jean Clark; his brother, Kenneth Earl Potter, Jr.; his niece, Bobbye Jean Jolly; and his lifelong friend Donna Arthur. He is survived by his mother, Wilma Arnold Timmons; his sister, LaKrisha Compton, her husband, David Compton, and their daughters, Kiersten and Kaitlyn Compton; his nephew, Shawn Clark, his wife, Tisha, and their children, Scarlette and Dorian.

Graveside services will be November 3, 2023, at 11:00 am at Resthaven Memorial Park, 5740 19th Street, Lubbock, TX.

In lieu of flowers, Jim’s family requests donations in remembrance of Jim Potter to One Accord Fellowship, 6002 Avenue U, Lubbock, TX, 79412, (https://www.oneaccordlubbock.com/donate); Lubbock Meals on Wheels, 2304 34th Street, Lubbock, TX, 79411,  (https://lubbockmealsonwheels.org/donate-info/donate/); and Life Inc., 8240 Boston Avenue, Lubbock, TX, 79423, https://www.liferun.org/contact).