Susan Graham Duke Potts was born on May 30, 1951, in Woodbury, Tennessee. She passed away peacefully on October 28, 2026, at Alive Hospice in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, following a year in which she faced significant health challenges, including normal pressure hydrocephalus and a stroke.
Susan lived a beautiful life rooted in deep connections to family, friendship, and service to others. She was married to her husband, John R. Potts, for 36 years, and in John she found deep companionship and a rich love. Though Susan and John did not have children of their own, the three dogs they raised and loved over the course of more than 30 years–Willie, Dr. Bob, and Bean–brought tremendous joy to their lives.
Among Susan’s greatest joys were her nieces and nephews, whom she loved as her own children. She was present through the highs and lows of their lives, celebrating their accomplishments, sharing in their struggles, and offering unwavering support and unconditional love. To be loved by Susan was to know that someone was always in your corner.
Susan graduated from Woodbury Central High School in 1969. She earned her undergraduate degree from Middle Tennessee State University in 1972 where she studied psychology. For much of her career, Susan worked as a mortgage underwriter, helping countless individuals and families along the path to homeownership.
Susan also celebrated 39 years of sobriety, an accomplishment that was deeply meaningful to her and to those who loved her. Her involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous and her service to others on the journey of recovery touched many lives. The lessons she learned through recovery: about grace, acceptance, honesty, gratitude, and taking life one day at a time, became an important part of how she lived and loved.
Susan was preceded in death by her parents, Orville Wesley Duke and Kathleen Smith Duke and her beloved brother, Stephen “Steve” Wesley Duke.
Family was at the center of Susan’s life. She is survived by her husband, John R. Potts; her two sisters, Elizabeth Duke Krueger (Dr. Thomas) and Treva Duke Travis (Nolan); and her sister-in-law, Linda Duke. The Duke sisters shared a special bond and, in their younger years, were the talk of Woodbury, Tennessee, for their beauty and their antics. That bond endured throughout their lives. Along with John, Susan’s sisters surrounded their older sister with love and care throughout the hardships in her final year.
Susan shared a special bond with each of her nieces and nephews: Brian Duke; Kyle (Deanna) Duke; Adam (Ginger) Duke; Patrick (Danielle) Hale; Julie (John) Dance; Anna (Joe) Thomas; Thaddeus Krueger; Andrew (Shrena) Travis; Carrie (Josh) Overstreet; and John’s nieces Mindy Nunnelee and Trae Gajewski.
To the next generation, Susan was lovingly known as “Aunts.” She delighted in being a “bonus” grandmother to her many grand-nieces and grand-nephews: Austin Duke, Cooper Duke, Sadie Thomas, Bowen Thomas, Silas Thomas, Lucy Overstreet, Henry Overstreet, Kate Overstreet, Abigail Travis, Audrey Travis, Owen Travis, Taylor Hale, and Mae Marshall Hale. Being “Aunts” was a role she treasured, and she loved each of them as her own.
Susan’s life was defined by the way she loved others and by her extraordinary generosity. She had a gift for making family occasions feel more special simply by being there. She was funny, a wonderful storyteller, and never hesitated to share an embarrassing story–whether the embarrassment belonged to her or to someone else. She found humor in unexpected places and joy in the ordinary moments of life.
Susan often told her “grandbabies” that she loved them “to the moon and back.” While her absence leaves an immeasurable void, there is comfort in knowing that the love she gave so freely will continue through the many lives she touched. She loved us all to the moon and back, and we will carry that love with us always.
A graveside service will be held at Ivy Bluff Cemetery in Ivy Bluff, Tennessee, on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 2 p.m.
Woodbury Funeral Home, 615-563-2311 or to leave condolences and memories for her family, please visit www.woodburyfuneralhome.net
For more obituaries visit our obituaries page.
This obituary was published by Woodbury Funeral Home.
Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter
