Rita Hazel Potter

Rita Hazel Atkins was born in Detroit 1/25/1921

Her mother, Anna David was a French Canadian,

immigrant {an illegal by today's standards}

Her father, Lloyd Atkins, was a young man from Ohio,

Methodist farm family, who moved to Detroit seeking

employment.

Staying at a boarding house on Bagley Ave and Second

St. in Detroit he met Anna David,and shortly there after,

embraced Catholicism and married this young French

Canadian, in old St. Ann's Parrish in Detroit.

This newly formed family moved to the City of St. Clair

Shores, then Roseville, ending up in Mount Clemons

Michigan.

Rita was the youngest child of that marriage, having two

older brothers David and Vernon and a dog named Sport.

During Rita's early years she witnessed many tragedies.

When she was eight years, old she watched the market crash

of 1929, the ensuing bank failures and her fathers lost of his

employment.

Her youngest brother Donald, at the young age of 18 a

handsome intelligent young man, starting out on his own

passed away of pneumonia, at a rooming house in Detroit.

At the young age of 19, Rita felt she had a calling to be a nun

and a teacher and entered the convent with the IHM Sisters

in Monroe Michigan.

After being told her life's work was going to be in the kitchen,

not teaching she's decided perhaps being a Nun was not her

calling and left shortly before her final vows.

Her father in the prime of his life lost his eyesight from a

cataract operation, and his ability to work. He lived another

25 years.

Money was tight.

The war effort was on, she was told they were hiring women,

to do defense work at Ford Motor Car Company.

They're working on the assembly line installing headlights

onjeeps. As the story goes she was overwhelmed by the

speed of the assembly line, started crying, a young

handsome shop steward named Elmer Potter came over to

see what the issue was, they went for coffee, the rest is

history.

They married shortly thereafter, Rita became pregnant, and

Elmer was drafted into the navy. She had her first child

alone while her husband was on the other side of the world,

fighting in the Pacific. Not knowing if he would ever return.

When the war was over, they moved into Public housing at

ten mile and Vandyke, later purchased a home in East

Detroit.

Rita was a good and faithful wife, Mother and meticulous

housekeeper. Her Children were clean, and dinner was on

the table every night.

Rita's Rules were: mass on Sunday, no meat on Friday,

catechism was mandatory.

She was a true believer in the Holy Spirit.

Rita never questioned the Holy Spirit or the power of prayer

but sometimes question the teachings of institutionalize

religion using fear, and guilt to control the multitudes.

As all mothers do, she worried a lot about her children from

the day they're born to the day she died.

As her family went through, marriages, divorces

grandchildren and great grandchildren, she was always

there.

She loved big band music from the 40s; Perry Como, riding in

convertible automobiles and visits from her lifelong friend

and soul mate Ally Mae St. Pierre.

The thing she loves most, her husband Elmer and her geat

grandchildren, as they were a comforter to her. She

understood they were the future. These great-grandchildren

would accomplish what she was unable to do in her lifetime.

In 1997, she lost the love of her life. She wanted to join him

but God was not ready to take her, for another 18 years.

Rita's legacy will live on through her children, her

grandchildren and her beautiful and gifted great

grandchildren, who will change the world.

All of this has and will come to pass, from a woman who live

a simple life, in a simpler time, who knew her place in the

world and went about doing her and Gods work to the best of

her abilities.

I know she is looking down and smiling on us today.

Paul Wesley Potter

6/10/2014