Jean Andre Potvin

Jean grew up in Portsmouth, New Hampshire where he learned skiing, skin diving and carpentry. He acquired his life-long love of football there, earning all-state football honors while playing on state championship teams. Strong bonds were formed within the Portsmouth High School football team and Jean still shared that bond with teammates 60 years later.

He attended Doane College in Crete, Nebraska on a football scholarship, but the corn fields couldn’t hold a candle to the beauty of New England, so he moved home to New Hampshire to complete an associate degree.

A football teammate asked Jean to join him in Atlanta, Georgia, which was a hip, young city in the late 70s, and that move “stuck.” (Perhaps because he met his future wife there?) In 1979 he finally surprised his family and gave up the bachelor life at age 34, never returning to live in New Hampshire, although he visited often in the next 30+ years.

In 1981 Jean relocated to Florida when his wife was transferred and was there ever since, except for a four-year stint in Houston, Texas in the early 2000s. The Potvins lived in Brandon and then Davie, Florida and finally settled in beautiful Stuart (twice!) After 40 years, Jean was a true Floridian, loving everything about his adopted state.

Jean always said he had “itchy feet” and he didn’t mind moving when his wife was transferred. His job skills were certainly in demand everywhere.

There was a common thread throughout Jean’s working life: HOME. He worked for many years in siding and cornice carpentry and then as an interior trim carpenter, building homes for families in Florida and Texas. He did stints as a real estate agent, and a real estate appraiser, helping families find the right home. And his final “segue into retirement” career was at the Home Depot, where he helped countless customers improve their homes.

In 2003, Jean and his wife purchased property and built their dream house in Stuart. After helping so many families with their houses, Jean had finally found the home and yard that held his heart! His “itchy feet” days were over, and this was his home for the rest of his life.

Jean enjoyed golfing for years, first with his spouse and then with the Florida Club’s men’s golf league after his retirement. Enjoying golf also meant traveling to the golf tournaments on the Florida swing. He also loved being outdoors hiking and birding and an old high school friend got him involved with the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Stuart for several years.

His love of football saw him in front of the TV enjoying many games; he particularly loved college football. His knowledge of the game meant he often commented on plays a few seconds before the announcers made the same comment!

Jean loved Florida so much, there were a lot of intrastate trips in 40 years. Favorite stops were Sanibel Island, St. Pete, and the Keys. His wife loves history, so trips to the great southern cities of Savannah, New Orleans, and Charleston were fun. So were annual visits to his father-in-law in Arizona. And a three-week trip via train and car in the Canadian Rockies in 2019 was truly memorable. Hiking on all those trips was a bonus.

During Covid, Jean became a bit obsessed with jigsaw puzzles like many others and he also enjoyed playing online solitaire games and checking his standing against other players.

But Jean was the most at home, and spent the most time, working in his yard backing up to a nature preserve. Jean spent hours at a time out there, even in the summer heat, tending to his native plant garden or the multiple bird feeders and bird baths. He was always trimming, digging, planting, and mulching. He loved cutting the lawn and was sad when he had to hire a lawn service while undergoing cancer treatment. The neighbors came by to chat when he was outside. Even the neighborhood kids knew “Mr. Jean” because he was outside so much.

The native plant garden and the feeders made the yard a haven for birds and in winter the feeders are full of Painted and Indigo Buntings and goldfinches. Birds are in the yard year-round, and Jean was proud that his hard work resulted in a yard list of 86 different bird species. And when bobcats visited Jean was ecstatic!

Jean left us too soon, but it was a life well lived. In addition to his loving wife Robin, Jean is survived by a beloved sister, brother, and brother-in-law, 3 nieces and 2 nephews and their spouses, 9 grandnephews/nieces, and 10 great grandnephews/nieces. There will be a family celebration of life soon.

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