Ben Potter, M.D., 93, of Kittery Point, Maine, died at home on November 8, 2023, surrounded by a loving family.

He was an active community member, a devoted family man, and a retired sixth-generation obstetrician-gynecologist. Ben grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., and attended Montclair High School and Phillips Andover Academy. Ben graduated from Dartmouth College in 1953 and medical school at McGill University in Montreal in 1957. He met his first wife, Johanna (Joey) Broughall, a pediatric nurse while training in Bermuda, and they married in 1957. Ben completed his internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans and his residency at Brigham and Women's (Boston Lying-In)/Harvard University Medical Center. Ben and Joey then moved to Concord, New Hampshire, where they purchased their dream home on Thayer Pond. Ben helped found the Concord Clinic (the first multi-specialty clinic in New Hampshire), which later became part of Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where he practiced for 35 years. Ben was a beloved member of the medical community, well-regarded by his staff and patients. Ben was also a devoted teacher of Dartmouth medical students, and he even took his teaching outside the classroom on sailing excursions on his sailboat, Banshee.

When Joey was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, Ben sought out the best medical care available. He cared for Joey for many years in a most attentive, empathic, and exemplary manner until her death from complications of Multiple Sclerosis in 1994.

Ben was thrilled to find another wonderful spouse, Judith Harris (Judy). They married on November 25, 1995, at St. Mary's of the Harbor in Provincetown, MA, and celebrated 29 years of happiness together. Ben and Judy traveled extensively, sailing through the Caribbean Islands and visiting Europe. They moved from Concord, NH, to Kittery Point, Maine, one block from the ocean. Ben spent his retirement lobstering on the Kittery Belle, traveling, beekeeping, mentoring local public-school students, overseeing the Ethics board at a local hospital, and volunteering with hospice. Ben planned his schedule around his Kittery Point coffee groups and daily visits to the Kittery Point dock to check in with the lobsterman and locals.

Ben loved the ocean and boats and his treasured Cliff Island, Maine, where he began visiting each summer in 1939. His love for the island, its people, and its community cannot be overstated. Cliff Island was vital to who he was.

Ben was known for his continued curiosity, his witty sense of humor, his superb storytelling, his unwavering positivity, his never-ending love of boats and the ocean, and his dedication to family and many, many friends.

He leaves his wife, Judith Harris Potter, and his children Heather Potter McClelland (David), Benjamin B. Potter (Dina), John P. Potter (Nancy), Dick Harris, and Meghann Harris. His grandchildren are Katie, Izzy, Hannah, Ariel, Sammy, Robin, Simon, Eliza, and Henry. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 26th, at the First Congregational Church at 23 Pepperrell Road, Kittery Point, ME. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Sustainable Cliff Island Fund P.O. Box 84 Cliff Island, ME 04109.