Della Frances Potter

Della was born and raised in Huntsville, Missouri, to Willis and Ola Belle Turchie, the third of four daughters. She graduated from Westran High School in 1959, where she was a majorette in the marching band and played varsity basketball.

Shortly after graduation, she met her husband of nearly 63 years, Frank “Steve” Potter, through a friend who knew she was looking for a “fun-loving Catholic boy” to date. Proving that “love at first sight” is a real thing, Della and Steve wed on August 27, 1960, just six months after they met. They made their first home as a married couple in St. Louis and moved to the Kansas City area in 1961.

Della’s family was her life’s work. She couldn’t have been prouder of her five daughters, 14 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren—and she loved each one unconditionally. Nothing gave her more joy than being a part of their lives. She was the ultimate volunteer at St. Matthew Apostle grade school, where she coached her daughters’ volleyball and softball teams, worked in the school office and library, served on the PTA and Altar & Rosary Society boards, and helped organize the annual shrimp dinners, parish camping trips, and school carnivals. Later, she also volunteered at St. John Francis Regis School and O’Hara High School. Through the schools and church, she and Steve made many lifelong friends who became part of their extended family.

Della was a shrewd bridge and Bunco player, great cook (especially the authentic dishes her Grandmother Turchie from Italy taught her to make when she was a young girl), and creative gardener who landscaped the yard and “the woods” behind their house with beds filled with colorful flowers that her neighbors and grandchildren loved. Della was an avid (some might say rabid!) sports fan. She rooted regularly for the Royals and Chiefs and was a lifelong Mizzou Tigers follower.

Her favorite holiday was Christmas. She loved to decorate for the season and every year set up an elaborate display of Christmas villages that would put department store efforts to shame. She spent hours getting the hundreds of lights on the tree “just right.” Her daughters fondly remember her all-night Christmas baking sessions, often waking up for school to the scent of cookies still in the oven or discovering her placing walnut halves on each piece of fudge. Most of all, she delighted in opening their home to neighbors, friends, and family to celebrate the season.

In keeping with her namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, Della enjoyed a special bond with animals, coaxing birds to sit in her hand, talking to the deer that lived in their woods and fussing at a black snake she called Sammy that made regular appearances in their backyard. Throughout the years, she befriended many dogs, including her beloved poodles Gidget and Luci Pasta. She often amused her daughters with stories about her pet pig Wilhelmina, who liked to follow her to school.

Della possessed a strong, innovative mindset and “can-do” spirit that her daughters and grandchildren have “inherited.” Forever curious about the world, she was a lifelong learner and voracious reader who instilled a love of reading in her children. She was always up for a new adventure, even taking a Ferris wheel ride at age 81, just a few months before she passed. Della will be deeply missed, but she left her family with a lifetime of love, wonderful memories, and traditions that will continue.

Della is survived by her husband Frank Stephen Potter; her daughters Kelly Scanlon (Mike), Paige Van Pelt (Ken), Stacy Thetford (Troy), Tiffany Siner (Kyle), and Ashley Clark (Phil); her 14 grandchildren—Katie Killen (Andrew), Megan Scanlon (Garrett), Rachel Johnson (Nick), Aaron Van Pelt, Tony Van Pelt, Stephen Thetford (Emily), Tarah Araiza (Steve), Scott Thetford, Mia Siner, Remi Siner, Talia Siner, Brandon Clark, Claire Clark, and Kennedy Clark; and seven great-grandchildren—Augie Hunkins, Henry Johnson, Nora Johnson, Sophia Araiza, Olivia Araiza, Aubrey Thetford, and Reese Thetford; two sisters—Myra Winkler and Rosalie Tregnago; and many nieces, nephews and extended family.

Della, Mom, Grandma—We MIZ you! And during college football and basketball seasons, we will be listening for your Z-O-U from above!

Services will be held Friday, August 25, at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 11822 Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO 64131. The Rosary will be prayed at 9:30 a.m., followed by visitation. Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. with a luncheon at noon and burial at Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery in Raytown at 2:30 p.m. Donations may be made in Della’s name to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Please reference Tribute #23590654.