Ethel Deloris Pothier

Ethel Deloris Pothier
May 19, 1925 – November 17, 2018
    We never wanted to let her go, but on November 17, 2018, at the age of 93.5 years, our beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, Ethel Deloris Pothier, passed into eternity.
Ethel was born to William Emlis and Myrtle Irene (Vick) Cullifer in Roxobel, North Carolina.  She was raised on a farm and tobacco plantation when segregation was still the way of life, along with her siblings Marjorie Louise, William Vernon and Betty Jean. 
    Although unfortunately not socially accepted at the time, her best friend, Jessie May, was black. She would secretly play with her favorite companion yet was not allowed to recognize her in town.
   She loved the farm and being a tom-boy, riding her horse bareback. She had a billy goat that would pull her in a cart her father built, to her grandmother’s house and around the small town.  Before school, she often helped out on the farm, as she delighted in being a part of the farming culture.  She thoroughly enjoyed the parties at which tobacco was fire-cured.
    In high school, she was captain of the basketball team and a gifted debater. 
    She met her husband, Robert Johnson Pothier, at a USO dance while she worked as a telephone operator in Norfolk, Virginia, during World War II.  She and Bob raised their 3 children in Northridge, California, where they moved after the war.  Ethel made all holidays and other family occasions extra special by fixing delicious meals and setting beautiful tables.  She loved treating her family to 4th of July at Hollywood Bowl and Disneyland trips, and being a Los Angeles/Hollywood tour guide to those who visited.  She was a classy mother, grandmother and great grandmother we all truly adored for her spunk and straightforward honesty. 
   In her adult life she played bridge, worked as a grocery checker, collected antique dolls and various figurines and bears, traveled in the U.S. and Europe, and after Bob’s passing, enjoyed time with beau, Walter Morgan.
   The last years of her life were spent living with family in Eagle, Idaho, and the last few months at Veranda Senior Living in Meridian.  How grateful we are that we had over 10 years with her as a beloved addition to our daily lives.
    She is survived by her sister Marjorie Louise Mace (William); her 3 children, Stephen Johnson Pothier (Makiko), Nancy Lee Button (Sherman) and Judith Ann Drury (Richard); 6 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
   Upon passing, she was reunited with her parents, brother, and sister Betty.
We LOVE you, Mom.