Douglas William Potter

Douglas William Potter, 72, a 43-year resident of Seattle, Washington, died on December 23, 2024. He succumbed to cardiac arrest following several months of treatment for a rare T-cell lymphoma (MEITL).

Doug worked as a Space Physicist at the University of Washington Geophysics Department (1981-1985), then at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) (1986-1995). He designed instruments for rockets and satellites and analyzed data from charged particles in the magnetosphere (near earth space). Then, he applied the computer skills he learned along the way to become a Senior Software Engineer at Microsoft, retiring in 2017. While there, he developed the first in-house spelling program used throughout the company’s software. Most important of all, he was a dear husband, father, and grandfather.

Doug was born August 31, 1952, in Great Lakes, Illinois, the first of three children born to William and Joan (Hanan) Potter. During his childhood, his family moved to places where his father was stationed as a naval officer: Seattle, WA, Monterey and San Diego, CA, Guam, and the suburbs of Washington, D.C. When they made a final move to Seattle after Doug completed high school in 1970, Doug studied at Western Washington University (then Western Washington State College) in Bellingham ,WA, completing a double major in Mathematics and Physics in 1974.

Doug continued his studies at the University of California, Berkeley, completing a Ph.D. in Space Physics in 1981. He was fond of saying that he had lived in Berkeley longer than any other place. While at Berkeley, he met his wife of 42 years, Karen Brattesani; they were married in Oakland in 1982.

Because Doug completed his doctoral thesis before Karen, Doug took the first job, a research associate position at the University of Washington in Seattle. After their marriage, Karen joined him, completed her Ph.D. thesis (in Social Psychology research), and began a consulting career in Seattle. Thus began their life in the Pacific Northwest.

Doug led a life filled with many interests. He and Karen joined the Granite Curling Club in Seattle in 1985, in part to have a regular date night together. He continued curling in regular league play and was proud to curl for the last 18 years with his son Galan in the Men’s League. He served in many capacities at the club: as President (2001-2005), Finance Committee Chair, Webmaster, bonspiel and competition Draw Master, and Chair for local and national playdown competitions. In honor of his contributions to the club, he received the Cruickshank Award in 1998 and later was awarded Lifetime Membership. He also served on the United States Curling Association (USCA) Board for several years, and he was selected to participate in the Men’s USCA Scot Tour in 2022, an event held once every twenty years. Doug was one of 20 curlers throughout the country to represent the USA on the tour, each team curling more than 20 games in three weeks at curling venues throughout Scotland. He felt honored to share this camaraderie with curlers from Scotland, where the game of curling originated.

Doug was generous with his time and took on additional leadership roles wherever he felt he could help an organization he cared about. He served for 13 years as the President of the governing board of the Rain City Symphony, a community orchestra. When his daughter Angela studied flute and asked him to play duets with her, Doug renewed his interest in the clarinet, which he had played in his high school marching band. He found performing with Rain City a rewarding creative outlet.

For 10 years, Doug led the Board of a Homeowners’ Association (HOA) in Aptos, CA, where he and Karen bought a condo near the beach. In recent years, he enjoyed accompanying Karen to Northwest Basketry Guild Retreats, where he applied his mathematical mind to understanding the twill and twining patterns he learned in classes.

Throughout his life, Doug enjoyed hiking and backpacking, especially with the Boy Scouts while Galan was earning his Eagle Scout rank. He routinely bicycled to work, even when that meant he rode 20 miles over the north end of Lake Washington from Seattle to his office in Redmond (then he took the bus home). In Aptos, he made a point of taking daily walks along the beach, keeping a lookout for whales, dolphins, and shorebirds. He was a whiz with weekly and daily crossword puzzles and took joy in automating his home electronics.

Doug enjoyed traveling to about half the country’s states, and also France, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Canada, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Scotland (as a tourist in 2024, no curling this time). Doug had a quirky sense of humor, fueled by early exposure to Stan Freberg, Monty Python, and Tom Lehrer. He regularly attended local theater productions, either as a subscriber or as a volunteer usher.

Doug is survived by his wife Karen, their two wonderful children Galan of Seattle, WA, and Angela Potter (Harry Noble) of Edmonds, WA, his grandchild Fia Noble, his sister Jill Potter of Bellevue, WA; and his niece Mara Pottersmith of Langley, B.C., Canada.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center or any of the non-profits he supported: Granite Curling Club of Seattle, Rain City Symphony, Seattle Repertory Theater, or ACT Theatre.