Verla Jean "Jeannie" Potts

 

Verla Jean “Jeannie” Potts, formerly of Poteau, passed away Dec. 27 in Houston, Texas.

Born Feb. 21, 1930, in Tulsa, to parents Lura Gertrude Robertson Greene and John Murray Greene, Jeannie grew up and attended school in Poteau, graduating from Poteau High School in 1947. She married Joel Wise Potts of Poteau in 1948 in Tulsa. They moved to Poteau in 1950 and relocated back to Tulsa in 1952.  Two daughters were born in Oklahoma before the family moved to the suburbs of Houston in Bellaire, Texas, in 1955. In Houston, Jeannie was employed as secretary for the chief accountant of Humble Oil Co. A third daughter and a son were born in Houston. The Potts remained in Bellaire through their children’s graduations and weddings until Joel retired in 1986 and they returned to live in Poteau.

Jeannie was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Poteau and involved in other community activities. She and Joel were married 44 years when he died in 1992. She moved to Houston for a brief period before returning to live again in Poteau. She made a final move to Houston in 2015 to be closer to family.

Jeannie was one of 14 children in the Greene family and is survived by one brother, Bill Greene of Poteau. She was preceded in death by husband Joel Wise Potts. Her other survivors include daughters Diana Ausick and husband Paul of Park County, MT; Debra Blackburn and husband Jess of Austin, TX; Donna Small of Cypress, TX; son Joel Wise Potts II and wife Christi of Houston; and seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren who remember her as “Beema.”

Graveside services will be 10 am, Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at Oakland Cemetery Pavilion in Poteau. Visitation will be Monday from 5-7 pm at the funeral home.