Clifton Dane Potter

Clifton "Dane" Potter, loving husband, stepfather of two children, son, brother, uncle, and cousin, crossed over to the other side peacefully surrounded by his immediate family around him on September 4, 2020. Dane passed away from glioblastoma multiform (GBM), a fatal and aggressive brain cancer that is terminal at time of diagnosis. Dane was born on July 13, 1975, to Karen L. Cartner and Larry E. Potter, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dane was born with bright golden hair and beautiful blue eyes. As a young boy, Dane had endured unimaginable misfortunes and had gone through many trials in life. He often credited how he later turned out as a human being from his military services (Army) dated 10/17/2001-09/20/2005. Dane always had a sweet and kind disposition even as a young child and that quality followed him throughout his adulthood. During his time in the Army Service, Dane learned life skills, directions in life, and made many dear friends whose relationships lasted for years to come. After his military services, Dane enrolled in college and later graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. He had since worked as a mechanical engineer until prior to his brain surgery. Throughout his career, Dane had worked at many places and made many connections with people. Everyone who has ever worked with Dane said Dane was always kind, down to earth, eager to help, and hard working. Dane later worked at GoEngineer and further developed his skills in SolidWorks (CAD). He obtained many certifications in SolidWorks and worked as a support engineer. He was said to be the go-to man for all the other engineers' design troubles when it pertained to SolidWorks. He still has many training videos that can be found on YouTube. His expertise and voice live on through those videos. Dane always said that he was just a phone call away. Most recently, after Dane moved to California in 2018, Dane worked for Verb Surgical then Roche Pharmaceutical designing robotic surgical arms and laboratory testing equipment. Wherever Dane worked, he always made connections with people. Dane treasured relationships. In his personal life, Dane married his first wife in 2006 and the marriage lasted 5 years. He often said that was his trial marriage for the real one. He said he learned a lot from that marriage and had learned and grown from that experience. Dane later moved from Oklahoma to Salt Lake City, UT, in 2014, where he resided for 4 years. During those years after his divorce, Dane searched for the family he always longed for since he was a child. Dane finally met the love of his life, Wenny Lee, in late 2017. Dane was also Wenny's soulmate. They met on an online dating app and they decided to meet in person the next day after chatting via texts all day. The first time they met, there was fireworks and sparks; the chemistry was evident from the beginning. They later moved to California (Silicon Valley) in June 2018 and subsequently got married on March 15, 2019. The time they spent together were the happiest times for both of them. Things were looking up and careers were taking off and they moved into their first home together in May 2019. During their times together, they traveled often to different places and had lots of fun and laughter. On December 17, 2019, Dane developed a seizure that would change everything. He later received the diagnosis of glioblastoma multiform (GBM). From the time of diagnosis to taking his last breath, it was a short 8.5 months. GBM is a relentless disease that steals the person's soul and functions gradually. Throughout those 8.5 months, Dane and his family had more than their share of struggles and tears but Dane's sweet and kind demeanor never left him even as he later had personality changes and dementia symptoms. His tumors were mostly in the frontal lobes which affected the essence of a person's soul. As he struggled with this disease, Wenny was always able to tell when he was confused or when he came back. His eyes were grey when he was confused and not himself but his eyes would turn back into the brilliant blue color when he came back. Toward the end of his life as he approached death, the last few days, his eyes were mostly blue. He had clarity and peace in the end. He shared with the hospice social worker that he had no fear in whatever he would be facing, and he trusted Wenny wholeheartedly and entrusted her with his life. His last coherent words to Wenny was that he will be ok and he loves her. His last words were words of love. Dane's declines toward the end were fast and furious lasting only 11 days. During these 11 days, Dane tried so very hard and gave his step-daughter a happy 15 th birthday and he waited until his stepson to come back from Utah. Even in his last days, he was still so considerate and tried hard. Dane waited until Friday night, when all four of us were together watching a movie like how he always loved to spend a Friday evening with us before, to take his last breath. It was as beautiful and peaceful as anyone could ask for. He carried lots of love with him as he crossed over. Dane was only 45 years old, far too young, but Dane will never be far from us. When you look at the blue sky, the blue ocean, you will see Dane's eyes watching over us. Dane wanted to travel the world and especially wanted to visit England. Dane now is free to go and visit wherever he wants to. Dane is survived by his wife, Wenny Lee; step-children, Brendan Eaton and Kristabelle Eaton; mother, Karen Cartner; sisters, Tonya Potter and Dawn Ainslie. He is proceeded in death by his maternal and paternal grandparents. Dane especially looked forward to the reunion with his paternal grandfather, Otis Timothy Potter aka OT Potter. Dane received great care from Mission Hospice of San Mateo. Thank you for making this journey a little more bearable for us and for bringing comfort to Dane. Special thanks to Dr. Gary Pasternak and Chris Kelly, RN and everyone who has taken care of Dane. We would also like to express our gratitude to Dr. Jennie Taylor and Dr. Brook Calton at UCSF; Dr. Scott Peak, Dr. Esther Luo, Dr. Benjamin Fisch, and John Sudiacal, RN at Kaiser Permanente NorCal. In lieu of flowers or personal donations, Dane would have liked for you to donate to Mission Hospice of San Mateo (https://www.missionhospice.org/donate/) or American Brain Tumor Association to help find a cure (https://give.abta.org/give/261975/#!/donation/checkout).