James Mawson Potter, M.D.

James “Jim” Mawson Potter, M.D., 84, passed away on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 in Pensacola, FL. Jim was born (10 minutes before his fraternal twin brother John McCahan Potter) on October 15, 1937, to Wendell Chester and Elizabeth Ellinor Potter in Cambridge, Maryland. He graduated from Cambridge High School, (Cambridge, MD), in 1955, from Washington College (Chestertown, MD) with a B.S. in Chemistry in 1959, and from the University of Florida with an M.D. in 1963.

Jim is survived by his wife, Martha Nell Wiggins “Nell” Potter, M.D.; twin brother John “Jack” Potter (Patricia), sister Mildred Elizabeth “Milly” Potter Holsberg Painter; sister-in-law Prudence “Prudy” Scearce Potter; daughters Martha Scott Potter Zlokovich, Ph.D. (Neil Zlokovich) and Kathryn Lee Potter Holsworth (Douglas Holsworth), son Patrick Mawson Potter (Deborah Bonnlander); grandchildren Samantha Lee Holsworth (Brodyjohn Stancliff), Aaron Michael Zlokovich (Stephanie), Benjamin Douglas Holsworth (Hayley), Matthew Alexander Zlokovich (Caitlin), Sarah Paige Potter, Winona Corinne Bonnlander, Wesley Mawson Potter, Clara Louise Bonnlander, and Juliette Van Doren Bonnlander; great grandchildren Anniston Scott Zlokovich, Dean Alexander Zlokovich, James Wade Zlokovich, Oliver Francis Holsworth, Joannah Luahlee Holsworth, and Emersyn Ruth Zlokovich. He is preceded in death by his parents Wendell Chester and Elizabeth Ellinor Potter ; brothers (infant) Wendell Chester Potter, Jr., Robert Elmer Potter, Ph.D., Wendell Archer “Bud” Potter (Jeannie), and Joseph Walter “Walt” Potter, (Lynn); and twin (infant) grandsons David and Jason Zlokovich.

Dr. Jim Potter’s life was filled with love, family, faith, fun, art, puns, puzzles, animals, loyalty, philanthropy, science, and service. If you are a Pensacola resident, you may have experienced his influence first hand. Have you ever visited The Zoo in Gulf Breeze, enjoyed music by the Pensacola Opera or the Pensacola Symphony, a play at the Little Theatre, the choir at Myrtle Grove United Methodist Church, or found building supplies at Habitat for Humanity Restore? If so, you benefitted from his passions. Jim is no longer “an angel in our midst” (though he was featured on WEAR as an Angel in our Midst) and we are all the poorer for it. He was one of the kindest, most intelligent, considerate, faithful, patient, and loving people we have ever met.

Jim’s entire life was built on a foundation of love. When his parents retired to Gainesville, FL, Jim moved with them to pursue his medical degree at the University of Florida and remained a resident of Florida ever since. It was at UF where he met, fell in love with, and married fellow medical student Nell Wiggins. And that was just the beginning of their amazing love story.

Their love story remained strong over their 61 years of marriage. In an era when women rarely began, and certainly rarely finished, medical school, Jim and Nell married during their second year of medical school. He supported her aspirations and her medical studies without hesitation. They lived with his mother after marrying, and as Nell puts it, “not so cleverly” welcomed their first child during their third year of medical school. Jim’s unwavering support for his wife and love for their daughter, as well as his mother’s helping hands, allowed Nell to graduate with her class rather than falling behind or dropping out.

Dr. James M. Potter and Dr. Nell W. Potter both graduated from the University of Florida in 1963 with their medical degrees in hand and their first child, Martha, on their hip. Their accomplishment was unusual enough in 1963 that their story made the papers in Gainesville, his hometown of Cambridge, MD, and her hometown of Zellwood, FL.

Having been raised in a large family – he and his twin brother Jack were the youngest of six children – Jim was used to a large, loving, expressive, supportive family. Together with Nell, they built their own large, loving family. After having their first child in medical school, having their second and third children as they completed their internships and residencies didn’t faze them at all.

Pensacola played an especially important role in Jim and Nell’s lives from 1963 to 1967. After medical school, Jim completed a 1-year rotating internship with the Pensacola Education Program (PEP), then a 6-month residency in surgery with PEP while waiting to enter the U.S. Navy School of Aviation Medicine Flight Surgeon Program. He completed the Flight Surgeon Program at NAS in Pensacola between 1964 and 1965. During that time, they welcomed their second child, Kathy, in 1964. After her birth, he entered the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute and served as a Flight Surgeon at NAS in Pensacola. And to round out the important events in their lives that took place in Pensacola in the 1960s, in 1967 they welcomed their son, Pat, to the family.

After Pat was born they moved back to Gainesville where Jim began his residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at UF while Nell worked as one of the physicians at the UF Student Infirmary serving 30,000 students. In 1972 he served on the Anatomic and Clinical Pathology Board, and 1971-1972 as Assistant Professor in Pathology, Shands Hospital, University of Florida, and as Associate Director of the Blood Bank, University of Florida College of Medicine.

Jim explained in a 1991 interview why he specialized in pathology. “Why pathology? I believe an interest in pathology lies in the way your brain works…It’s a challenge, a puzzle with an end point. For example, in an autopsy, often the cause of death isn’t as important as what we learn. Pathology is interesting and rewarding, particularly in being able to identify something rare. You always have a list, a catalog, in the back of your mind of a wide range of things, some of which you may see only once or twice in a lifetime. You have to anticipate, to be ready. New technologies are providing new insights all the time” (Hertzler, 1991). Jim was a pioneer in nuclear medicine for Northwest Florida, having studied medical radioisotopes in the early 1970’s.

Although Jim specialized in pathology in Gainesville, Pensacola lured them back. They returned in 1972 for Jim’s staff appointment at Baptist Hospital. Both Nell and Jim practiced medicine in Pensacola for the majority of their medical careers, Jim as a pathologist at Baptist Hospital until he retired in 2002, and Nell in her own independent adolescent and young adult medical practice until she retired in 2003. Jim served as a leader and member of many professional boards including Baptist Hospital (Medical Staff President, Institutional Review Board, and many committees), Associate Medical Examiner for the First Judicial District, Baptist Healthcare Foundation, University Hospital, Gulf Breeze Hospital, Escambia County Medical Society, West Florida Medical Foundation, Florida Medical Association, and the American Medical Association. Dr. Potter served as faculty for the University of Florida, the University of West Florida and Pensacola State (Junior) College. He also served as Co-chair of the UF College of Medicine capital campaign which raised $31 million for his alma mater.

Their return to Pensacola not only allowed them to become very involved in the community, but also to expand their horizons within their own home. Jim and Nell invited exchange students from around the world to share their home for a year at a time. They welcomed Ellen West and Kathrein Stoeber Mueller from Germany, Christine Delbeke from Belgium, Adolpho Brizuela from Mexico, and Yutaka Ito from Japan – all of whom graduated from Escambia High School. They also hosted students from around the world for shorter time periods.

They also expanded their horizons by travelling extensively. In addition to exploring all 50 U.S. states (mostly on meandering paths visiting family and friends along the way) they also visited England, Ireland, Germany, Scotland, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, Peru, China, the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Costa Rica, Taiwan, and New Zealand, but Jim had a special place in his heart for Africa. Jim visited Africa many times and together he and Nell explored South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and his favorite, Tanzania. Around a campfire in Africa they and their close friends Patrick and Donna Quinn cooked up the idea of starting what would eventually become The Zoo in Gulf Breeze.

For over six decades, Pensacola did not just have an influence on their lives, they also had an influence on Pensacola. In the late 1960s Jim and his best friend Pat Quinn had started a little zoo in Pensacola that didn’t last very long. However, in the early 1980s they began bringing their safari dream about a bigger zoo to fruition, drawing up plans, and convincing investors to support their dream. They hoped to bring animals they had seen on their travels to northwest Florida. Construction on what would become The Zoo in Gulf Breeze began in 1983, and its continued success is testament to their dream of bringing a zoo to this community. Quinn quipped, “I bet we’re the only zoo with a high profile pathologist like Jim out here every weekend pulling weeds, doing postmortems, helping catch animals, and doing carpentry and electrical work” (Hertzler, 1991).

His influence around the community was multi-faceted, and mostly very understated and quietly performed without expectation of reward or recognition. He not only donated to many worthwhile causes, he provided leadership on several nonprofit Boards as well as hands on work. He was a sponsor of Ducks Unlimited as well as Nature Conservatory to preserve wetlands and open spaces. He was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International. The guy in faded shorts and T-shirt and a beat up canvas hat puttering in the aisles of Habitat for Humanity Restore, organizing donations and fixing items here and there, also provided leadership as Chair of Pensacola’s Habitat for Humanity Board. Jim always said “It’s important for us to give back. We came from families that didn’t have a lot of money. Now, we see ourselves as recipients of an asset for which we need to make a return” (Francischine, 2019).

“In addition to their loyalty to UF and their demanding medical careers, the Potters are generous with their time and talent within the Pensacola community, including the Arts Council, the Greater Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, and the Local United Way Campaign” (Morris, 1988). Jim has been an influential supporter of many things that bring him joy, including music. He sang in his church choir everywhere he lived. He made sure that his house of worship had a pipe organ and beautiful piano. His love of organ music led him to support the refurbishment of the grand organ in Pensacola’s Saenger Theater. He served as President of Pensacola Symphony Board, twice, and has been a lifetime subscriber and donor. One of his proudest accomplishments was recruiting and hiring Maestro Rubardt to lead the orchestra. Jim and Nell helped to establish and continue to support Pensacola Opera, not just financially, but by providing housing for artists-in-residence over the years, and always up-bidding auctions at fundraising events. He also served on the Advisory Board for Pensacola Choral Society, supported Pensacola Children’s Chorus and Pensacola Little Theatre, as well as WSRE (public television) and WHIL (public radio). Every local band appreciated Jim & Nell getting out on the dance floor to get the party started.

Jim was a longtime, involved member of Myrtle Grove United Methodist Church. In addition to singing in the choir, he directed the choir during a long search for a new choir director, led Sunday School groups, and served on the pastor-parish committee with a firm but loving hand. His quiet faith was evident in all his words and deeds.

A gathering of family and friends will be held at a later date.

If you’d like to honor Dr. Potter and his legacy, take a child to a zoo or museum, or invite a friend to enjoy music at the Pensacola Opera, Pensacola Symphony, or Myrtle Grove United Methodist Church, or donate to one of the causes he so avidly supported with his treasure, talents, and time:

Ducks Unlimited

Florida Museum of Natural History (Gainesville, FL)

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity Restore

Myrtle Grove United Methodist Choir

National Public Radio

Nature Conservancy

Pensacola Opera

Pensacola Symphony

United Way

University of Florida College of Medicine

WSRE

Washington College (Chestertown, MD)

Any organization that makes your life and the lives others fuller and richer.

References

Francischine, T. (2019, Winter). Work with it. Florida Physician, pp. 22-25.

Hertzler, L. (1991, March). Cover Story Drs. Jim & Nell Potter: A prescription for success. Pensacola Magazine, pp. 6-8.

Morris, P. A. (1988, Fall). Alumni Nell and Jim Potter; After their family, careers and alma mater comes The Zoo—an interesting change of pace for these two doctors. The University of Florida Physician, pp. 20-25.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.oaklawnfunerals.com for the Potter family.