Marion “Lawrence” Potter, 99, of Seneca, Kansas, formerly of Vermillion, died Monday, February 20, 2012 at Crestview Manor care home in Seneca.

Lawrence was born on January 3, 1913, to Marion and Oklahoma Ballard Potter. They farmed a homestead 2-1/2 miles south of Vermillion, Kansas. Lawrence graduated from Vermillion High School in 1931. He lived for a short time during his senior year with Ed and Ethel Ballard-LaCour in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ethel Ballard-LaCour was his aunt; both Ethel and Ed preceded him in death.

Lawrence married Lydia P. Adams on April 5, 1934 after a three-year courtship. The couple made their home on the Potter homestead near Vermillion. Besides farming, Lawrence worked at a rock quarry to supplement their income. In March 1937 because of drought, they moved to Sacramento, California to work for Del Monte and Libby’s canning operations.

After Lawrence contracted sleeping sickness, the couple moved back to live with Rachel and Charlie Adams, Lydia’s brother and wife, near Frankfort, Kansas in 1939. Shortly thereafter, they moved to a farm southwest of Centralia. In 1941, their daughter Ethlyn Gail Potter was born. In 1944, they moved to the farm within the Swiss/French community Neuchatel on French Creek in the southwest corner of Nemaha County, Kansas where they farmed for 39 years. In 1946, their daughter Mary Charlene Potter was born.

In 1973, they retired to a 22-acre farm near Vermillion, where they continued to pasture cattle. In 2004, they moved to Seneca to be closer to family. In December of 2007 they became residents of Crestview Manor care home.

In April 2011, the couple celebrated 77 years of marriage.

Lawrence was a member of the United Methodist Church of Seneca. He enjoyed fishing with his nephews and family, watching sports, bowling, playing cards, and horseshoe in his younger years.

Besides his wife Lydia, he is survived by two daughters, Mary Charlene Potter of Omaha, Nebraska and Ethlyn Gail Deckert of Glen Ellyn, Illinois; grandsons, Bradford and Doug Deckert; a great-grandson, Wyatt Murphy-Deckert; and brother-in-law, Jack Cox.

He was preceded in death by an infant brother, Cecil Edward Potter, and his sister, Evelyn Louise Potter Cox.

There will be a visitation from 3 to 5 PM on Friday, February 24, at Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca.The funeral service will be held at 2 PM Saturday, February 25, at the Vermillion Methodist Church in Vermillion. Burial will be in Vermillion Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be given in Lawrence’s memory for the American Cancer Society or the United Methodist Church of Seneca.