WILMINGTON — James Gordon Potter (Jim), beloved husband, father, grandfather, and brother, died on October 24, 2025, at age 83, in Wilmington, North Carolina. He had been golfing the second ocean hole with friends.
Jim was born on April 22, 1942, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Josiah Warren and Catherine Bridge Potter. He attended Angell elementary school where he met future college roommates and lifelong friends. According to his mother, his engineering genius was clear from a young age based on his propensity to disassemble household appliances. According to his older sister, the outcome of those experiments was less compelling.
After graduating at the top of his class from Ann Arbor High School, Jim attended both Michigan of the East (known to some as “a school in Cambridge”) and the actual University of Michigan (GO BLUE!). Noteworthy scholastic achievements included fighting off an intruder alongside his best friend, Tom Rowe, and saving countless others from class on a snow day by filling the UofM Engineering Arch with snow to render it impassable. He also majored in physics and obtained a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University, where he met his first wife, Suzanne, with whom he had two daughters, Alison and Kirsten.
Jim’s career led him across the country where he worked on groundbreaking computer and satellite systems. Jim’s early work for the federal government pioneered the use of satellites to bring healthcare and education information to remote communities–work that is honored today in the National Air and Space Museum. This led to roles with Satellite Business Systems, working with NASA to launch the first private satellite networks, and with MitreTek/Noblis and Booze Allen Hamilton, where he advised the U.S. and foreign governments on telecommunications strategy and designed national networks.
Jim ultimately settled in northern Virginia, where he raised his daughters, served as President of the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church, and fell in love with Betty Petrilli. Smitten by her wit, Sophia-Loren good looks, and their shared love of books, Jim married Betty in 2005, becoming stepfather to Lauren, Megan, and Stephen. In 2013, Jim and Betty retired together to Wilmington, North Carolina, where Jim made new friends in his Landfall community, played countless holes of golf and hands of bridge, and walked many, many miles around Lake Landfall with his dog and “favorite child” Carly.
Jim is survived by his beloved wife of 20 years, Betty; his sister, Linda Whitehurst, and her family (Bill, Catherine, and William); his children, Alison Potter (Greg Ekey), Kirsten Potter (Charlie Kimball), Lauren Gildea (Joe Gildea), Megan Petrilli, and Stephen Petrilli (Jackie Petrilli); his six grandchildren, Rowan Howe, Seamus Ekey, Wyatt Kimball, Miller Kimball, and Elise and Jay Gildea; and of course, Carly.
In lieu of a service or flowers, Jim’s family kindly requests donations be made to Jose Andreas’ World Central Kitchen.
