Marion was born on August 10, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio to Marion and Alta Pottinger. He and his wife, Deanna, were married August 19, 1961; this was after Marion graduated from the University of Cincinnati, and once Deanna finished her nursing degree. Marion was a Professional Engineer, holding an MSME (1963) and PhD (1966) from Purdue University, in addition to a BSME (1961) from the University of Cincinnati.
Marion was best known technically for his work on tire generated vehicle control forces and uneven wear where he was extensively published including 87 papers, parts of five books, government reports, standards, and patents. He was a plenary lecturer at the 1997 Tire Society. As a globally respected authority, he was invited to lecture and consult in places across the globe including Japan, South Korea, India, the United Kingdom, and Germany, maintaining a network of international colleagues. He was a life member of six technical societies in which he served in many capacities, including President of the Tire Society. He was also a member of American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Society for Testing Materials, Sigma Xi, Society of Automotive Engineers, and the Society for Experimental Mechanics.
Marion served his country in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War from August of 1966 until February of 1969, receiving the rank of Captain in January of 1969. Like his mother, Marion shaped the lives of others as a teacher and mentor, weaving a lasting legacy and love of learning across his family, professional, personal, and religious contacts. Like his father, he could fix absolutely anything, enjoyed communicating with extended family, and readily shared his immense kindness with each person he met. In the community, Marion’s vibrant faith led him to serve as a leader at the Summit Christian Church for over 50 years; he was an adult teacher, sometime preacher, and elder. He served as Chairman of the Elders, and he supervised the building remodeling in the early 2000s.
Marion took tremendous pride in his wife and family; he loved them deeply, supported their education and accomplishments, and made treks around the country and world to visit them. He, Deanna, and their three children cleared the land for the house he designed as their home in Bath Township. He enjoyed traveling and being outdoors, visiting county and National Parks, including hiking in the Rocky Mountains, where he displayed his love for photography, creating literally thousands of slides. He loved history, reading, and watching a rousing game of baseball whether it was the Cleveland Guardians or his hometown Reds. He will be greatly missed by his devoted and beloved wife, Deanna, his best friend of more than 65 years, his children, grandchildren, great-grandchild, friends, colleagues, church family, and numerous others touched by his lasting legacy.
He was preceded in death by his father and mother Marion and Alta Pottinger, and by his brother Garrel Pottinger. He is survived by his wife Deanna Pottinger, his sons Brian Pottinger (Tricia), Derek Pottinger (Becky), and by his daughter Dawn Pottinger. He is survived by his eight grandchildren: Taylor, Tessa, Melissa, Jennifer, Abigail, Colin, Natalie, and Lily; and by his great grandson, Lucas. He is survived by his sister-in-law Rachel Maines and his niece Rachel Pottinger.
Visitation will be held at Rose Hill Funeral Home & Burial Park, 3653 W Market St, Akron, Ohio 44333, on August 13, 2026, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
A Funeral Service will be held at Rose Hill Funeral Home & Burial Park, 3653 W Market St, Akron, Ohio 44333, on August 14, 2026, at 12:00 pm.
Final resting place will be at Rose Hill Funeral Home & Burial Park, 3653 W Market St, Akron.
