Robert Scott Potter Ii

Robert Scott Potter II, a longtime St. George teacher and Washington City resident who turned music into perfection and made math musical, has passed away at age 74.

Scott, the father of five and husband for 51 years, touched many as a teacher for more than 30 years as well as an author, musician and scriptorian.

Known as either Scott, Scotty or just Mr. Potter, he was born April 11, 1948, in Provo Utah, as a child of music.

He was the first child born to band teacher Robert Scott Potter and Mae Mangus Potter. Through his dad, young Scotty had access to a multitude of instruments to fill the sheet music of his bright and capable mind.

He played the piano and began composing at 6 years old. He saw the Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman stories and wanted to learn how to play like the masters.

Scott spent most of his childhood in Canby and Portland, Oregon, with a love of music and baseball guiding his growth. Before Scott was out of high school, he could play 33 instruments.

Scott and his family moved to Parowan, Utah, in his junior year of high school. It didn’t take him long to become the big man on campus. In his senior year, Scott became seminary president as well as pitcher and clean-up hitter for the Parowan Rams.

At age 19, Scott was ordained an elder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served two years in the Cumorah Mission.

After his mission, Scott returned to Parowan and enrolled at Southern Utah State College, now known as Southern Utah University. Through friends and family, Scott took note of a stylish, sweet soprano named Sharon Rowley.

Scott and Sharon were married for time and all eternity on June 3, 1971, in the St. George Temple.

After student-teaching at Cedar High, Scott became the Dixie High band teacher, then the band and math teacher at Pine View High before completing his teaching career at Lava Ridge Intermediate School as a full-time math teacher and retired in 2010. Post-retirement, he briefly returned to teach math and jazz band at Tuacahn High.

During his career, his jazz bands at Dixie and Pine View high schools went to state competitions seven years straight, finishing in the top five each year.

As a musician himself, Scott was a part of the Southwest Symphony for 10 years, playing the bass clarinet.

With his father Bob, he wrote the LDS musical “For Heaven’s Sake” that toured for a summer around Southern Utah.

His gift of teaching went beyond music to doing what some consider impossible: Making math class something his students looked forward to.

Scott developed Baseball Mastery Math, a program that helped students master algebraic concepts. Those concepts went worldwide in 2010 when his book “Your Favorite Math Guide” was published.

But along with the language of music and numbers, Scott also liked to teach about his faith.

As a lifetime member of the church, Scott served in many positions including first-counselor in the bishopric, high priest group leader, ward organist and nine times as Gospel Doctrine teacher in six different wards. He loved God, and strove to live His teachings to the best of his ability.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert Scott Potter and Mae Mangus Potter and his brothers-in-law David Hyatt, and Kenneth Oscar Rowley.

He is survived by his wife of 51 years Sharon Rowley Potter, his siblings Chrystine Hyatt (Virgin, Utah), Carlyle (Bonnie)  Potter (St. George) and Elayne (Rodney) Pearson (Salt Lake City); his five children, who all reside in St. George, Daralyn (Chris) Reed, Shareen Potter, Candace Potter, Rashell (Josh) Werner, Robb (Coryell) Potter; and eight grandsons.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, July 2, 2022, at 11 a.m. at the Buena Vista Stake Center, 860 North Fairway Drive, Washington City, Utah.

A visitation prior to the service will be from 9:30-10:45 a.m. at the same location

There will be a luncheon at the Capilla Chapel for close friends and family after the service.

Interment will be during a private ceremony at Parowan, Utah, cemetery.

The family would like to thank all the medical teams who gave him such extraordinary care and provided bonus years of love with our husband and father.

The service will be live-stream, click on the link below.