James Barnette Potts Sr.ROCK HILL - Mr. James Barnette Potts Sr., 102, of Rock Hill, S.C., passed away Thursday, June 20, 2013, at his home. Services for Mr. Potts will be 2 p.m. Sunday, June 23, 2013, at Saint Johns United Methodist Church, 321 S. Oakland Avenue, with the Rev. Debra Quilling-Smith officiating. Burial will follow at Laurelwood Cemetery. Mr. Potts was born in the Pleasant Valley Community near Fort Mill and was the son of the late Dr. Robert Marcellus Potts and the late Rosa Jane Barnette Potts. He graduated from Indian Land High School and worked on the Hoover gang federal program at the beginning of the Depression. In 1933, he started working for the Civil Conservation Corp., serving in Conway, Woodruff and Rock Hill. He worked until 1942 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and they started closing the camps and sending the men into service. He then went to work as a guard at the Shell plant on Westinghouse Boulevard. When the plant closed, he went to the Riverview Diary outside Rock Hill as a farm manger until it closed in 1948. Rock Hill Furniture store was his next employer as a salesman and outside man. When the opportunity came, he went to Moore Furniture and later became a partner with Ray Wimberly and Johnson Sturgis. He was a member of Saint John's United Methodist Church where he was treasurer of the Browning Sykes Class for over 60 years. He was an usher for around 70 years. He was an honorary member of the administrative board after serving many terms. He was a member of the Retirement Fellowship. He joined Saint John's in 1941 after growing up in the Pleasant Hill Methodist Church in Pleasant Valley and joining as a teen. He has been a member of the Rock Hill Civitan Club with perfect attendance for almost 57 years. He has been president for several terms and held many offices. He has received the S.C. District Foundation Award and the Otis Jeffcoat Award. In 2011 he received the Civitan International Fellow Award for all his service. He also was a member of the Never Grow Old Club at Rogers Memorial ARP Church. In addition to his parents, Mr. Potts was preceded in death by his wife of 59 years, Margaret Evelyn Dunlap Potts; his four brothers, William Potts, Richard Potts, Robert Potts and Heath Potts; and his two sisters, Lorraine Potts Barr and Rosa Potts Osborne. Mr. Potts is survived by his children, James B. Potts Jr. (Jim) and wife, Susan of Clinton, S.C., and Leila Jane Potts Long and husband, John Long of Rock Hill; his grandchildren, James "Jay" Potts and wife, Tara of Conyers, Ga., Lee Potts of Newberry, S.C., John Long Jr. of Rock Hill, Brian Long and wife, Natalie of Rock Hill and Michael Long and wife, Nicole of Rock Hill; three great-grandchildren, Caitlin Long, Elliot Long and Caleb Long; and two step-grandchildren, Josh Rockymore and Kelsie Rockeymore. The family would like to thank his caregivers, Chris Hinman, Amanda Patterson, Joe Williams, John Brandt and Beth Queen for the loving and tender care given to Mr. Potts. The family will receive friends from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 22, 2013, at Greene Funeral Home Northwest Chapel, 2133 Ebenezer Rd., Rock Hill, SC 29732. Memorials may be made to Saint John's United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 149, Rock Hill, SC 29730 to the Everlasting Light Fund or Hospice of S.C., 1230 Ebenezer Rd., Rock Hill, SC 29732. Condolences may be made at www.greenefuneralhome.net.

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