Obituary: Betty W. Potter

Betty W. Potter passed away peacefully in Goldsboro, NC on June 30, 2023, after her battle with dementia. She was preceded in death by husbands Kent Kennedy and James D Potter and special friend Max Cobb. Betty is survived by her daughter Beth Phillips and husband Sam of Winterville, NC and 2 grandchildren Kennedy and Jared Phillips. She was one of fifteen children of Owen and Viola Whaley and is survived by her brother Donald Whaley of Duplin County. She has several special nieces and nephews who were close to her heart and loved by her as if they were her own.

Betty was an active member of Southwood Christian Memorial Church. She loved serving her church and her community. She served various roles in the church, but most people will remember her working behind the scenes in the kitchen at the Fall Festivals or wherever/whenever she was needed for her church. Her community was as important to her as she chose to serve in local service organizations such as the Rotary Club and Eastern Star.

She spent much of her work life as a Health Care Technician at Caswell Developmental Center. She had a unique gift for the job and truly enjoyed the people she worked with in each area she served. She worked at Caswell until her health declined to the point, she was unable to provide the quality of services needed. She would still be referred to as “Ms. Potter” by some of the individuals she worked with long after she had left the center.

Betty loved to eat out with friends, go on road trips to see friends and family, and to be outside. She loved a well-kept yard and neat house. If she were home, she could be seen out in her yard either cutting the grass, spreading pine straw as needed around her scrubs, cleaning the windows of her house, spraying her porch and patio, sweeping the garage, finetuning her lawnmower with grease and new belts, picking up limbs/pine combs on her golf cart, etc.

Services for Betty Potter will be held at Howard and Carter Funeral Home in Kinston, NC, on Friday, July 7th, 2023, at 6:00pm with visitation to follow.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Southwood Memorial Christian Church Scholarship Fund 1027 North Carolina Hwy 58, Kinston, NC 28504. Betty believed that an education was something everyone should have a chance to receive.