Hilmer Lee Potcinske

Hilmer Lee Potcinske, 87, of Houston, Texas went to be with his Savior on October 27, 2026. He left this world in the very best way, with dignity and peace. He is reunited with his beloved wife of 65 years, Roslyn. Guaranteed it was a joyous reunion!

Hilmer was born in Yorktown Texas to Harry and Mildred (Hillmer) Potcinske. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Yorktown.

As the third of four boys in a household of pranks and mischief, he was very proud of the fact that he never got caught. Years after graduating, he ran into the high school principal, who told him “I always knew you were involved, but I could never catch you!” He loved that!

Hilmer met Roslyn in high school, where he was a football star, Valedictorian of his class with a 96.81 average, a National Merit Scholar and was elected all-state honorable mention football team even though he missed much of the season due to injury.

Hilmer attended the University of Houston on a football scholarship. His years as a student athlete were crazy, as he lived in the “animal house” style dorm with the football team while earning a degree in Industrial Engineering. Somehow, he survived and graduated! They had many friends on campus and attended many parties!

Hilmer continued to support his beloved Cougars, attending the Cotton Bowl back in the 1980s and as a season ticket holder in more recent years.

He and Roslyn married June 4, 1960.

After graduating, Hilmer worked at Maxwell House Coffee. He built a career with them spanning more than 30 years. As an Industrial Engineer, his ability to make processes more efficient influenced his everyday life, as well. He was a coffee snob, of course. Maxwell House was the best!

Roslyn did not have to work too hard to convince Hilmer to make the family bigger. In 1966 they adopted Sheri, and in 1968 Jon was added to complete the family of four. They made their home in Northwest Houston.

Hilmer was a doting father. He read to his children and taught them to throw and catch a ball or a frisbee, dribble a basketball, ride a bike, and to “ride” a pogo stick. He built them a clubhouse in the backyard and encouraged their young minds with all sorts of different games. Hilmer also coached their baseball/softball teams and spent hours working with them on their skills. Later, he was their driving instructor, making sure that simple maintenance and changing a tire was part of the lesson plan. He sent them out into the world with high expectations and the skills to make their way, secure in the knowledge that whatever would come, he would be right beside them cheering them on.

Being a father was wonderful, but there is a lot of work involved. Being a Pawpaw was even better! He loved his grandchildren Austin and Marieke, falling in love the moment he met them! Hilmer loved to sit around the table with the family and just marvel at his brilliant grandkids (and later, their brilliant spouses).

In the 80s, Hilmer and Roslyn were partners in a small catering business. The amount of energy they had to work fulltime, raise teenagers and then on weekends work hard to make some bride’s special day the best ever is exhausting just to think about. Hilmer’s love for Roslyn pulled him into this, and many other endeavors!

Hilmer liked to play games, he preferred games of skill over those of luck. His favorite game in the last years was Chronology, where he could show off his knowledge of history. He was very well read and had travelled extensively, loving to discover new places. He was a brilliant resource if you needed some advice on a destination. His ability to recall details of his travels never dimmed. He and Roslyn drove all over North America exploring the National Parks, they visited Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and took many cruises. They loved exploring! His final (and favorite) big trip was to Italy for Austin and Jamie’s wedding followed by a Greek cruise.

Hilmer was a member of the Lions’ Club for many, many years. If you were in Houston in the 70s, you may have seen him in his yellow vest standing on a corner asking for change for the Lions’ Camp for the Blind. He knew that a life of service was a blessed life.

He was a faithful member of Advent Lutheran Church for many years and, more recently, Kinsmen Lutheran Church. Hilmer sang in the choir until Covid and was active in a small group for many years.

During the last year of his life without his beloved wife, he slowed down and let Jon, Sheri and Carsten take care of him. He loved any outing involving food, with Treebeards being his favorite restaurant. He enjoyed sweets and ate a lot of ice cream! He took a few road trips with his kids, to Yorktown to see family and to Nashville to see his brother Daniel and sister-in-law Dee.

He is preceded in death by his beloved wife Roslyn, his parents, and his brothers James and Harry.

He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law Sheri and Carsten Alsguth, his son Jon Potcinske, his grandson Austin Alsguth (wife Jamie) and his granddaughter Marieke (husband Alex), his brother Daniel Potcinske, many nieces and nephews and many, many friends. He will be missed.

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” A.A. Milne

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Kinsmen Lutheran Church Quilting Ministry.