William D. "Sonny" Potts Jr.
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William D "Sonny" or "Bill" Potts, Jr., died peacefully on September 10, 2026. He was 95.
Mr. Potts was born in Nashville, TN on November 3, 1930. He was predeceased by his wife, Wynelle, parents, William, Sr. and Ruth, and his sister Rebecca Potts Reeve and brother Phillip Potts. He is survived by his children: James D. Potts, Brashear, MO, Amy W Potts, Jefferson City, MO, William X. Potts, Fairhope, AL; and Sally Potts-Lewis, Greenville, NC, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Sonny grew up in Atlanta, GA and attended Atlanta Public Schools. He matriculated at the Georgia Institute of Technology, "Georgia Tech," and was commissioned through the ROTC Program there as a Second Lieutenant on February 4, 1952. He graduated from the US Army Engineer School at Fort Leonard Wood, MO where Marine Major John Glenn was a classmate. After graduating from the Engineer School, he served as a Basic Training Company Commander at Fort Leonard Wood training recruits. In November 1952, he reported to Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, (SHAEF), where he performed various duties until the end of his military service on January 27, 1955. Sonny returned to the United States as a First Lieutenant.
Sonny then worked for US Steel as a pipe salesman for east Tennessee from 1955 to 1967. He married Wynelle Teer from Birmingham, AL on January 29, 1952. In 1968, he formed Potts Air Engineers in East Point, GA installing and servicing air conditioners throughout the metropolitan Atlanta area. He joined the Georgia Tech staff in 1985 rising to Utilities Manager for the campus before retiring in 1994. Sonny and Wynelle were married for 65 years until her death in 2024. They raised their children in College Park, GA before moving to Greenville, NC and then to Brashear, MO.
First Lieutenant Potts with join Wynelle in eternity at the Georgia National Cemetery on October 23, 2026.
Arrangements are under the direction of Travis-Noe Funeral Home in Kirksville, Missouri.