Edwin Potter

Edwin C. ?Buzz? Potter, age 65, of Nisswa, MN passed away March 9, 2003 at his home on Gull Lake. Buzz was born December 9, 1937 at home in Robbinsdale to Edwin C. and Ethel (Burke) Potter, Sr. Buzz was a business entrepreneur-from gold mining to dredging-and most recently worked as a mortgage banker at Western Pacific Mortgage Co., in Nisswa. His passions included geology, fishing and history. He was a journalist, poet, and story teller. Most of all, Buzz loved trains. The sound of the whistle, the clack of the wheels on steel rails, and the view from an open box car were siren songs that grabbed him as a boy and never let him go. These inspirations became a noted body of informed original poems, in the metric tradition of Service and Kipling, which are immortalized in print and a classic spoken word CD entitled ?Poems of the Hobo Road.? His poetry has often been featured by Garrison Keillor on ?The Writer?s Almanac.? He has been the subject of prime time TV news stories, and numerous magazine and newspaper articles. Buzz helped establish and served as the editor of ?The Hobo Times? magazine in 1993, and was President of the National Hobo Association (NHA).
Buzz is survived by his first wife of 25 years, Barbara (Miller) Wazelle of Tarpon Springs, FL, his partner and soul mate of 18 years, Susan Langworthy, her son, Chad (Cherie) Langworthy, Chicago, IL, sister Rita Simmons, NM, five children: Julie Potter Dearing, Champlin, MN, Terry Potter, CA, Mitchell (Sherry) Potter, WI, Steven Potter, CO and Scott Potter, Isanti, MN-16 grandchildren, 1 great grandchild and many nieces, nephews, and good friends. His parents and brothers, Burke, Tom and Robert Potter preceded him in death.

A memorial service will be held at St. Christopher Catholic Church in Nisswa on Thursday, March 13, 2003, 11:00 AM. Per his request, an Irish wake with much music, poetry and laughter will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred. ?And we?ll all meet again with these wayfaring men-By the river on God?s peaceful shore-There?ll be coffee & stew & dry firewood too-And at peace, we will wander no more.? Excerpt from ?The Hobo Cemetery? by Buzz Potter, 1993