Potter remembered by the community he served

Rob Potter will be remembered as a champion of his community. 

His legacy is within the walls of the Marsh Street Centre, on its stage where he performed hilarious roles with the Thornbury Community Theatre, and it extends beyond the threshold into Clarksburg, Thornbury, Craigleith, and all the rural hamlets whose history he worked to preserve, whose stories he told, and whose families he knew by name. 

Potter, a former newspaper reporter, an author, an amateur actor and director, and the deputy mayor of The Blue Mountains, died on Sunday after many years battling cancer. 

His wife of 37 years, Linda Potter, said he battled five different cancers, starting with prostate cancer, for six years, and “got a year more than he was supposed to.” 

He spent that year, and two others, as a member of The Blue Mountains council since 2018, and serving as deputy mayor since Jan. 30, 2020. 

“Of all the jobs he ever did, council was the one he enjoyed the most,” said Linda. “He regretted that he didn’t do it years ago.” 

Potter attended council meetings as recently as last week, just before he was admitted to the hospital, where he spent his final days. 

He cut the ribbon for a new community garden earlier this month. 

“When Rob got into something, he just got into something,” she said. “When he put his mind to something, he put everything into it.” 

It’s that tenacity that helped Potter and others bring the Marsh Street Centre into being. 

In the 1990s, Potter was directing and acting in plays with the Thornbury Community Theatre, which had no stage to call its own. 

In 1997, with Potter as the founding president, the Marsh Street Centre opened as a community and arts centre in Clarksburg, and Thornbury Community Theatre frequently performed on stage.

Rob Brown, the current president of the Marsh Street Centre, said there would be no centre without Potter. 

“You could just feel the love that he had for the Marsh Street Centre,” said Brown. “That was his baby, and he was so proud of it. He loved to talk about the history, right from pushing brooms when they first started.” 

Linda confirmed, the Marsh Street Centre was one of Potter’s passions. He knew Clarksburg needed something to reinvigorate its downtwon, and he had a soft spot for the arts, being a writer and actor himself. 

Potter often shared the stage with fellow Thornbury Community Theatre player Bev Byrne, who remembers his sense of humour and his enthusiasm for the local productions. 

“He and I played off each other really, really well … there was always a chemistry there,” she said. “It was great to work with him. He had a vision of how we wanted things to be, and he helped us get that across.” 

Outside of their characters on stage, Potter and Byrne were friends. She will remember his dedication to the community. 

“I can remember going to sit in his office when he was at the paper … he just had a mass of papers on his desk,” she said. “The joke was he knew where everything was … he did. He knew what was going on too, and wanted to be involved in a lot of stuff and make sure people knew what was going on.” 

For 28 years, Potter was the reporter and editor for the Review Herald newspaper, which eventually became the (now closed) Courier-Herald.

While there, he helped former Meaford Express reporter Chris Fell learn the ropes of community journalism. 

“As a young reporter just starting out in the newspaper business, Rob taught me a lot about writing and covering a small town,” said Fell. “He knew the personalities, he knew the issues and he truly cared about the community. Rob was one-of-a-kind and the true essence of a community journalist.”

This September, Rob and Linda celebrated their 65th and 70th birthdays together with a party at the Marsh Street Centre. 

“We pretty much did everything together,” said Linda. 

The two met when Potter moved in next door. 

“I was the girl next door, simple as that,” she said. 

They didn’t have children, but often took their neices and nephews on camping trips or outings to “spoil them then return them to their parents.” 

The Potters enjoyed their trailer getaway in Hepworth, and were regular golfers. 

When Potter worked to bring the Marsh Street Centre vision to fruition, Linda worked alongside with equal passion. 

She served as president for the centre, and the two were presented with lifetime memberships to the centre in 2020. 

“When he ran for council, I helped,” she said. “Whatever project he had on, I always helped him.” 

His latest passion, she said, was the Rural Access to Broadband Internet Technology (RABIT) task force, which he led.  

Linda said her husband was moved to learn of homecare nurses who couldn’t access patient files once they left the boundaries of Thornbury, or of kids who couldn’t do online learning if they lived in one of the rural hamlets. 

“Things like that made him think we have to do something, so he jumped in with both feet,” said Linda. “He always put community first.” 

Potter died on Nov. 14, surrounded by his wife and family, at the age of 65. 

He and Linda have asked for donations to be made to the Marsh Street Centre in lieu of flowers, and the town has set up a book of condolences in the town hall atrium for anyone to sign. 

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.