August 12, 2017
August 12, 2017
Thinking of you.
This memorial website was created in memory of our loved one, Juanita Edythe “Nita” Pottinger (nee Griffin), who passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 12th, at Vashon Community Care. She was 91.
Nita, was born in 1923 in Ballard, and grew up on Queen Anne Hill. In the late 1920’s, her family built a cabin on the Bunker Trail on Vashon Island, where Nita spent every summer swimming, sailing, and her favorite passtime - beachcombing.
She graduated from Queen Anne High School and pledged the Sigma Kappa sorority at the University of Washington, where she studied art and languages.
Briefly married and divorced in the early fifties, Nita married George Kingston "Mike" Pottinger in 1955 and the couple made their home on Vashon Island.
In 1960, Mike and Nita moved to Seattle, returning to Vashon in 1972. After retirement, they moved to Port Orchard in 1998. She returned to Vashon Community Care in 2011.
Nita worked as a medical secretary for Virginia Mason for the majority of her working life, and as a result knew almost every medical condition and term imaginable. A life-long student with an inquisitive nature, her curiosity was endless. Nita loved listening or reading local, regional and world news, and she could discuss any world political situation with knowledge and insight. In 2005 after her husband passed way, Nita contributed much of her time to defend and support the elderly in Seattle.
She loved beauty in all its forms and expressed her creativity through writing, painting and music. Her only regret was not to have fulfilled her dream of being a choreographer.
Nita is survived by her five children: Signe, Kevin, Carrie, Paul and Todd; grandchildren Ben, Claire, Ryan, Damien, Colin, Meredith, Grace and Alec; and her great grandson Ta'an.
Tributes
Leave a tribute
August 23, 2014
August 23, 2014
THANKS*
We would like to thank our mother, Nita, for having graced our lives with her presence. She found joy in the simplest of things and was generous to a fault. Her endless curiosity was infectious as was her respect for all opinions and cultures. And when faced with life’s challenges, she consistently demonstrated the qualities that many of us aspire to – patience, compassion and forgiveness.
We would also like to thank those individuals and communities that welcomed Nita and extended friendship and support during her long life: her lifelong friend Marion; the sorority sisters at Sigma Kappa Mu chapter; her sisters-in-law Denise, Heather and Ursula; Seattle Senior Housing Council and the residents at Carrol Terrace; the residents and staff at Vashon Community Care, where she spent the last years of her life, and lastly, to Dr. Kappleman, who so patiently and compassionately shepherded our mother through her last days.
*This euology was given during the funeral service.
We would like to thank our mother, Nita, for having graced our lives with her presence. She found joy in the simplest of things and was generous to a fault. Her endless curiosity was infectious as was her respect for all opinions and cultures. And when faced with life’s challenges, she consistently demonstrated the qualities that many of us aspire to – patience, compassion and forgiveness.
We would also like to thank those individuals and communities that welcomed Nita and extended friendship and support during her long life: her lifelong friend Marion; the sorority sisters at Sigma Kappa Mu chapter; her sisters-in-law Denise, Heather and Ursula; Seattle Senior Housing Council and the residents at Carrol Terrace; the residents and staff at Vashon Community Care, where she spent the last years of her life, and lastly, to Dr. Kappleman, who so patiently and compassionately shepherded our mother through her last days.
*This euology was given during the funeral service.
August 20, 2014
August 20, 2014
I have fond memories of Nita's smiling face, her wit and her bright mind. Though I didn't see her often, I was always impressed with her knowledge on a wide variety of subjects and her avid interest in the world. I hope sweet memories comfort her entire family and their families as well.
Leave a Tribute
Recent Tributes
August 12, 2017
August 12, 2017
Thinking of you.
August 23, 2014
August 23, 2014
THANKS*
We would like to thank our mother, Nita, for having graced our lives with her presence. She found joy in the simplest of things and was generous to a fault. Her endless curiosity was infectious as was her respect for all opinions and cultures. And when faced with life’s challenges, she consistently demonstrated the qualities that many of us aspire to – patience, compassion and forgiveness.
We would also like to thank those individuals and communities that welcomed Nita and extended friendship and support during her long life: her lifelong friend Marion; the sorority sisters at Sigma Kappa Mu chapter; her sisters-in-law Denise, Heather and Ursula; Seattle Senior Housing Council and the residents at Carrol Terrace; the residents and staff at Vashon Community Care, where she spent the last years of her life, and lastly, to Dr. Kappleman, who so patiently and compassionately shepherded our mother through her last days.
*This euology was given during the funeral service.
We would like to thank our mother, Nita, for having graced our lives with her presence. She found joy in the simplest of things and was generous to a fault. Her endless curiosity was infectious as was her respect for all opinions and cultures. And when faced with life’s challenges, she consistently demonstrated the qualities that many of us aspire to – patience, compassion and forgiveness.
We would also like to thank those individuals and communities that welcomed Nita and extended friendship and support during her long life: her lifelong friend Marion; the sorority sisters at Sigma Kappa Mu chapter; her sisters-in-law Denise, Heather and Ursula; Seattle Senior Housing Council and the residents at Carrol Terrace; the residents and staff at Vashon Community Care, where she spent the last years of her life, and lastly, to Dr. Kappleman, who so patiently and compassionately shepherded our mother through her last days.
*This euology was given during the funeral service.
August 20, 2014
August 20, 2014
I have fond memories of Nita's smiling face, her wit and her bright mind. Though I didn't see her often, I was always impressed with her knowledge on a wide variety of subjects and her avid interest in the world. I hope sweet memories comfort her entire family and their families as well.
Gallery
Sharing anecdotes of ancestors
Mom and Ryan
Varages southern France
Cyclists ready to roll!
Bombshell in Boeing bomber
Versailles, France
Reading to Claire and Damien
Always dapper
Chez Dean and Urla in Bothel.
Recent stories
Closer than ever
August 10, 2018
dearest Mom,
Since you’ve been gone I have come to understand so much more about who you really were - the person underneath the dates, the events, the roles you fulfilled and your persona.
I can relate to your joys of motherhood and the pain of misunderstandings in relationships, the longing for freedom from life’s cares and the fear of that same freedom.
We did not always understand each other in this lifetime, but I now feel you closely with me every day and cherish your memory.
Love,
Carrie
Great Grandmother
August 12, 2016
by Ben Drake
I think it's awesome than me and my son got to spend time together with her
Great Grandmother
August 12, 2016
by Ben Drake
I think it's awesome than me and my son got to spend time together with her