Helen C. Potter

Potter, Helen Catherine (Poland) passed away peacefully on July 12, 2026 and she joins her husband, Robert L. Potter in heaven. She was the beloved mother of Susan Helen and her husband Ira Thomsen, and Mary Ann and her husband Bernard Ruthmeyer, all of Dayton, Ohio; loving grandmother of Michael, Nicholas, Kelila, and Matthew Thomsen and Leo Ruthmeyer.

She was preceded in death by her parents, James E. Sr. and Helen B. Poland, her sister Mary Ann Poland and her brothers and sisters in law James E. and Dorothy Poland, Richard J. and Martha Poland, and Thomas J. Poland. She is survived by bother and sisters in law John F. and Rosalind Poland, and Rita Poland, all of Cincinnati, as well as a host of loving and spirited Poland nieces and nephews.

Helen grew up in Cincinnati and graduated from Mother of Mercy High School and Edgecliff College, majoring in Chemistry. Following graduation, she worked for six years in the chemical research laboratories of Procter and Gamble. She met Bob at a friend’s wedding and they were married at St. Margaret of Cortona Church in Cincinnati. After several years in Cincinnati and New York City, they moved to Dayton in 1965.

She was an avid supporter of the arts and gave countless volunteer hours to programs providing arts education to young people. Inspiring a love of the arts in young people was her great interest. She was a Charter member of the Muse Machine Board of Trustees and was actively involved in the founding of that organization as well as a long-time supporter, including serving on the Muse Machine Emeritus Board. She served as a docent at the Dayton Art Institute for 30 years. Helen, along with DAI Curator, started the Muse Machine program at the DAI, and she chaired that program for 10 years. She was a long-time member of the Dayton Philharmonic Volunteer Association and the Opera Guild of Dayton serving on the Boards of both organizations for many years, chairing many educational programs for both.

Her love of travel took her throughout the world, visiting 66 countries, many of them multiple times and was accompanied by Bob who shared the same travel passion. She enjoyed becoming immersed in the cultures of others. She enjoyed her all-Irish heritage, made a number of trips to Ireland, took both daughters and grandchildren, and visited the area from which her ancestors came.

Helen was an avid bridge player and enjoyed golf. For 25 years she was a lector at St Charles Borromeo Church. She was a long-time member of the Dayton Racquet Club, Sycamore Creek Country Club, and the Dayton Woman’s Club. Contributions may be made in her memory to the Helen C. and Robert L. Potter Arts Education Fund at the Dayton Foundation, 1401 S. Main Street, Suite 100 Dayton, Ohio 45409 (https://www.daytonfoundation.org) or the charity of your choice.

Visitation will be held at St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 4500 Ackerman Blvd, Kettering, Ohio 45429, on July 20, 2026, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 am at the same location. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery, 1625 Calvary Drive, Dayton, Ohio 45409, on July 20, 2026.