“A good man and a great priest.”

These simple words have been used time and again to describe Father Donald Potts, former pastor at Saint Ann Catholic Church.

Potts, 83, died Monday, May 29. Since then, his parishioners and those who knew him best have been taking time to remember him and the life he led in the community.

“Everybody knew him and most everybody loved him,” said John Beik, a good friend and parishioner of Pott’s.

Born on May 24, 1934, in Newark, New Jersey, Potts was one of 13 children born to Stuckey and Ophelia Potts.

Potts was ordained in 1960 as a member of the Order of the Holy Cross. In 1983, he became a priest of the Diocese of Kalamazoo.

Potts first served at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Bridgman, Michigan. He then served Immaculate Conception in Three Rivers, Michigan and Saint Mary’s in Paw Paw, Michigan, before coming to Saint Ann Catholic Church in the late 1990s. He retired in 2015, 55 years after he was ordained.

Those who knew him knew Potts and a generous man with a good sense of humor, Father Joe McCormick, the current pastor of Saint Ann Catholic Church, said.

Potts kept his sense of humor and sense of resilience even through tough times and health issues, McCormick said.

“[Potts] was always had a lightheartedness about him,” McCormick said. “He even went to a nursing home for a while, and everyone thought he would be there permanently, but he came back and continued to preach for another year before he retired.”

Even in retirement, Potts continued to attend Sunday mass, and led some weekday services.

In addition to leading the church, Potts always took care of the church and its parishioners, Beik said.

Not only did Potts do do things for the physical church, such as pay for a new church sound system out of his own pocket, but he always did everything he could to help parishioners, both personally and financially, Beik said.

“Someone who needed assistance never had a deaf ear in Father. He was always willing to help,” Beik said. “He always loved to visit his parishioners, have dinner with them and get to know them.”

Outside the church, Potts was also very involved in service work in the community.

“St. Anne has a reputation for always helping the poor and those in need,” McCormick said. “Father Potts was certainly instrumental in that.”

Potts was buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Cassopolis, despite his New Jersey roots.

“He loved Cassopolis and the community as a whole, because he recognized what a great small town it was,” Beik said. “He felt very much at home here.”