Barbara P. Potter went home to the Lord on September 25, 2022.
Born Barbara Anne Petty, December 15, 1938, in Springfield, Massachusetts, to the late Barbara (Behrendt) and Alvis Brooks Petty, she was the first of three children.
Barbara married Jack A. Brooks in 1957 in Suffolk Virginia. They began their life together in Winchester, Virginia, where the first two of their children were born. With the near death of their second child, Barbara and Jack made a vow to God that they would open their home and devote themselves to helping others in need.
A move to Thompsonville, Connecticut, saw the births of children three and four and the later adoption of two more children, beginning their lifelong commitment to helping others. Needing a larger place and due to a relocation of Jack’s employment, Barbara and Jack moved to Chesterfield, Massachusetts, and began their life in a tent with six children (one with the measles), a dog, and an in-tent telephone while they set about building their new home. They received mail addressed to “The Tent, Chesterfield, Massachusetts” and filled jugs for their drinking water from a water trough down the hill.
Barbara and Jack went straight into church involvement working on many projects and fundraisers and leading local youth. Barbara sang in the church choir and co-founded the The Hilltown Herald that was published in their kitchen with the help of local youth and friends. She and Jack were also engaged in local and state politics. Their home was always warm and welcoming: their children raised in a loving atmosphere and a home open to people from all walks of life and circumstances. Barbara was a surrogate mother to infants in the foster program; worked with pregnant, unwed mothers; invited mentally handicapped children to share in the holidays; and offered their home to teens from Harlem to enjoy a rural home over long weekend retreats. She and Jack also participated in the New York based Fresh Air Program as a host family.
In 1979, Jack was offered a new job. He and Barbara moved to Portland, Oregon, with their three youngest children. While there, Barbara and Jack participated in Harry’s Mother, a program that provided a home environment for runaway teenage girls living in the streets, and Janice Youth, providing a home to girls on probation from Hillcrest Youth Corrections. Barbara maintained contact with several of the girls over the years and was especially fond of her “daughter” Kristina. Barbara also worked for the Salvation Army.
A move to Sandy, Oregon, provided a quieter life and an opportunity to start “Brookside Bed & Breakfast.” Barbara and Jack provided a warm atmosphere, wonderful breakfast, and good conversation. They made lifelong friends among their many guests from around the world. Jack passed in 2002 and Barbara slowly let go of the B&B, but still kept the house open to people in need. After nine years of being a widow, Barbara married Kenneth L. Potter. Together they carried on helping those less fortunate and opened their home to ex-felons, knowing the hardships they would be facing.
Barbara was bold in her convictions, with a readiness to act on them. She did this with a perseverance to her commitment and a tireless drive. Barbara loved her family and friends with a fierce love. She was independent, smart, fun, an avid gardener, and an advocate for the underdog. She loved to sing, collect antiques, knit hats to donate to cancer patients, planted beautiful gardens, and raised peacocks, fowl, goats, and llamas. She is missed dearly.
She leaves behind her sister, Nancy Noyes and husband Worth; her children, Diane and husband Dan Lamontagne, Lydia and husband Peter King, Jack Jr. and wife Laura Jacoby, and David and wife Chengali Brooks; her grandchildren Matthew Donovan, II, Jessica Lamontagne, Peter King, II, Laurel King, Cyrus and Ethan Brooks, and Ulyera and Waverly Brooks; and several great grandchildren and nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her husband Jack and sons William “Bill” and Brian Brooks, brother Jay Petty, and her second husband Kenneth.
A Memorial Service will be held at 11 am on January 21, 2023, at Living Word Fellowship in Boring, OR.