Richard John Potash

He was born on Aug. 14, 1933, in Jessup, Pa., in Lackawanna County, to George Potash and Mary Jestrebsky Potash.

Rick was a traveling man who never met a stranger. He always had a friendly face and jokes for everyone he met, especially toddlers because he liked to tease them. He would make a low sound like a big dog, and the kids were always looking around for one!

He was good with languages and once had conversations in Polish with a Polish physical therapist who worked with him. His father was a Russian immigrant who came through Ellis Island, and Rick may have been speaking some Russian to the family over the years.

Rick graduated from Jessup High School in 1952. When he was still a teenager, to help his family, he joined the Pennsylvania National Guard, saying he was older. But when his unit prepared to ship out to the Korean War zone, they sent him home.

After high school, he worked as an electronic technician for General Electric.

When he was 21, he signed up with the U.S. Air Force as a maintenance electrician. He served in Japan, playing football, and also in Thule, Greenland. He was very proud of these experiences, and he said he liked to choose places no one else would go. He was discharged a year later.

He worked for American Sterilizer as a field representative, which involved repairing and servicing hospital medical equipment. The job allowed him to mix his love of travel with his love of fixing things. He really enjoyed this job, talking of it frequently in later years.

He worked in number of places over the years, working in logistics in Stratford, Conn., Huntsville, Ala., with Boeing, and in Titusville, Fla., with Boeing working on the launch vehicle assembly for the Apollo 11 mission. He also worked in logistics in Pascagoula, Miss. He met his wife, Vicki, in Huntsville. In Florida, their son, George, was born and he adopted Vicki’s two daughters.

In Huntsville once more, he worked as a maintenance planner for Davis Construction. and then in Columbia, S.C., at Daniels Construction as electrical cost engineer and estimator. Daniels Construction was building the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant in Jenkinsville. In 1984, when construction was complete, he took a planner-scheduler job at the plant, which was owned by South Carolina Electric & Gas. SCE&G awarded him its People Helping People award in August 1986, recognizing his outreach to the community. He retired in 1994. In addition to his full-time work he also worked in several places as a reserve police officer: the Huntsville Police Department, the Titusville Police Department, and in Ocean Springs he was a reserve police officer and assistant chief for the reserve unit.

In Columbia, he served as a first sergeant with the U.S. Army Reserves 360th Civil Affairs Brigade, retiring as a master sergeant from the 3287th USAR School in 1993. With this unit, he traveled to Grenada to help rebuild schools.

He was a 4th degree Sir Knight of the Knights of Columbus Bishop England Council 724 in Columbia, where he enjoyed cooking for Polish Night.

He volunteered as assistant scoutmaster for Boy Scout troops 340 and 52. As part of their activities, he helped them cut and deliver firewood to people in need.

Rick is survived by his wife of 59 years, Vicki Potash; son, George Potash, two daughters, Donna (Gary) Beaugez and Leslie (Phil) Dunn; brother, Bobby (Carmie) Potash; grandchildren, Julia Richards and Jim (Jennifer) Beaugez; Jonathan Dunn and Andrew Dunn; grandson-in-law Brad Simmons; and great-grandchildren, Maddie Simmons and Aubrey Simmons; Kyle Richards, Ethan Richards and Jaden Richards; and Annie Beaugez and Emily Beaugez.

He was preceded in death by granddaughter, Tracy Beaugez Simmons; parents, George and Mary Jestrebsky Potash; sisters, Helen Potash Lebo and Marion Potash Robacker; brothers, Albert Potash, Myron Potash, Joseph Potash, and an infant sister, Josephine Potash.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let Your perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

A funeral Mass for Rick will be at the Basilica of St. Peter in Columbia at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 23. Burial will take place in St. Peter’s Cemetery off Elmwood Drive.