Wester Schow Potter

Wester was born in Lehi, Utah, to Iris Margaret Schow and Glenn Sowards Potter, and lived on the family's farm in Bancroft, Idaho, for the first few years of his life. He was named Wester because his father loved the American West. After his father died in 1936, Wes grew up in Lehi, Farmington, and Provo, attending Brigham Young High School and eventually Brigham Young University. He served in the North Central States Mission and later gained two beloved younger brothers and a sister, Ralph Childs, Kaye Childs Woolley, and Ross Childs, when his mother remarried in 1959.

He had a talent for sales and spent the late 1950s and 1960s selling men's clothes in Provo, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. He met Polly Helene Price at the Laguna Seca races in 1968 and the couple married June 6, 1970. They returned to their native Utah to raise their daughters, living first in Bountiful, then Holladay, and finally in Salt Lake City. For several years he owned his own menswear store, W. S. Potter & Co., in Bountiful and Holladay. When he closed his store he went to work for the new Nordstrom store in downtown Salt Lake City.

Wester was a gregarious guy, quick with a smile, a joke, and a personal connection. He knew thousands upon thousands of people, easily recalling details about everyone, including the mens' suit measurements, and he made new friends wherever he went. He loved his daughters fiercely and bragged about their accomplishments to everyone he knew. He loved fast cars, first becoming involved with land speed racing at the Utah Salt Flats in 1951, and serving as the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association media relations liaison for decades. He was inducted into the Dry Lakes Racing Hall of Fame in 2013 for his many contributions to racing.

Wes loved jazz music, dancing (he played trombone in high school until he realized he'd rather dance with the girls than play in the band), skiing, road trips, BYU sports, murder mysteries, and his many cars. He was an expert on textiles, which he learned about from his mother, who taught in the home economics department at BYU. He loved visiting his grandchildren in Boston and Tulsa, and was an adopted grandpa to several friends and relatives. He missed Polly terribly after her death in 2018.

In addition to his siblings, he is survived by his daughters Elisabeth Potter Boss (Scott), Meghan Potter Cannon (Daniel), and Paige Kathleen Potter, as well as grandchildren Elisabeth Marion Boss, Sarah Eloise Boss, Andrew Russel Potter Boss, Chloe Jane Cannon, John Potter Cannon, and Philippa Kate Cannon.

A viewing will be held from 6 to 8 pm on Thursday, May 26, at the Yalecrest Ward, 1035 S. 1800 East, in Salt Lake City. Funeral services will be Friday, May 27, at 11 am with a viewing at 10 am. Burial will be at the Payson City Cemetery.

Special thanks to the Call family, the Stahmann family, and the extended Potter family for their exceptional love and care over the years.