Morton Potashnick

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Morton Douglas Potashnick, 84, of Sikeston passed away Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022, at his home.

He was born in Cape Girardeau Sept. 23, 1938, to the late Eugene Nathan and Vivian Dye Potashnick.

He graduated from Sikeston High School in 1956, where he was a player on the Sikeston Bulldogs football team. He attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity.

After college, Morton's adventurous spirit led him to take a job in South America working on natural gas and oil pipelines. He became fluent in Spanish and remained bilingual for the rest of his life. His uncle, R.B. Potashnick, had a road, bridge and dam construction company outside of Cape Girardeau at Dutchtown, and he invited Morton to come to work for his company, starting a natural gas and oil pipeline division of R.B. Potashnick Construction Co. Morton was president of the pipeline division for many years.

His work led him to travel all over the United States, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and many other foreign countries. After R.B. Potashnick's death, he decided to start his own company called Potashnick Energy Services and did consulting work in the natural gas and oil industries. He was an avid boater who had his boat captain license, and he did humanitarian work by taking doctors, dentists and medications to Cuba on medical missions.

He was a lifelong member of the First United Methodist Church in Sikeston. He was a member of the Sikeston Elks Lodge and Sikeston Kiwanis Club. He was an avid golfer and a member of the SEMO Seniors Golf Association.

On June 24, 1971, he married Jane Ella Yount in Sikeston. They had three children together, and she survives him.

He is survived by a daughter, Heyde Elizabeth Rendleman, and her husband, Todd Rendleman, of Oran, Missouri; son, John Douglas Potashnick. and his wife, Virginia Goodin Potashnick, of St. Louis; four grandchildren, Ella Heyde Rendleman and Nicholas Todd Rendleman of Oran and Margaret Lilly Elizabeth Potashnick and Nicholas Goodin Potashnick of St. Louis; sister, Sarah Ponder, and her husband, James Ponder, of Charleston, Missouri; sister-in-law, Sue Potashnick of Sikeston; and many wonderful nieces and nephews.

Besides his parents, Morton was preceded in death by a son, Nicholas Marshall Potashnick; his brother, Fielding Potashnick; and his sister, Eugenia York, and her husband, William York III.

Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, at Nunnelee Funeral Home in Sikeston.

Funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, followed immediately by burial at Sikeston Memorial Park alongside his son and his parents. The Rev. Jennifer Moxley will officiate.

Memorial contributions may be made to Sikeston Kiwanis Club, Attn: Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 234, Sikeston, MO 63801 or First United Methodist Church, 1307 N. Main St., Sikeston, MO 63801

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.nunneleefuneralchapel.com.