Lifelong nurse enjoyed travels, modeling

Although nursing defined much of Leilah Potthoff’s life, her interests extended to everything from modeling to volunteering, and traveling to sewing.

“If my mom wasn’t a nurse, she probably would have been an actress,” said her daughter, Robbie Potthoff. “My mother liked to keep busy.”

Mrs. Potthoff never really retired from nursing, even after she entered Walnut Ridge Memory Care, according to her daughters.

“She lived to be a nurse. That was her calling,” Robbie Potthoff said.

Leilah B. Potthoff of North Huntingdon died Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019, at Walnut Ridge Memory Care, Greensburg. She was 89.

Born in Duquesne on March 30, 1930, she was a daughter of the late George and Nellie (Winklevaus) Kemerer. She graduated from Ligonier Valley High School in 1947 and did her nurse’s training at Latrobe Hospital, graduating in 1949 with a two-year degree.

It was during her time at Latrobe Hospital that the famous Zavada quadruplets were born. Although, as a nursing student, she was not directly involved with their care, she was captivated by the spectacle that surrounded their birth, her daughters said.

“She always talked about the quads. … It was a big deal,” Robbie Potthoff said.

Mrs. Potthoff worked at Latrobe Hospital after her graduation and then took time off to start a family. She married her husband, Robert, in 1951, and they raised four daughters.

She was an accomplished seamstress who sewed clothes for her daughters, including matching outfits. She also taught sewing to students with special needs.

She later worked as a nurse at Jeannette District Memorial Hospital, Mountain View Nursing Home and Westmoreland Manor, her daughters said.

In 1984, she and her husband moved to Clearwater, Fla., where she continued to work in health care. She volunteered her nursing services for the Red Cross during several hurricanes.

Mrs. Potthoff got involved in modeling later in life. She modeled cosmetics on Home Shopping Network and participated in fashion shows to benefit hospice. She once appeared in a commercial with a Major League Baseball player, her daughters said.

Her love of travel took her to Ireland, Germany, Italy, Egypt, France, Russia, Israel, Alaska and many other U.S. states. A lot of those trips were with her husband, but some she took by herself.

She moved back to Westmoreland County in 2014.

Mrs. Potthoff was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Potthoff.

She is survived by her four daughters, Kathy Hare and her husband, Russell; Janice Potthoff; Barbara Potthoff; and Robbie Potthoff, all of North Huntingdon; and two grandsons.

Friends may call from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Ott Funeral Home, 805 Pennsylvania Ave., Irwin. Parting prayers will be held at 9 a.m. Friday at the funeral home, followed by a 9:30 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial at Immaculate Conception Church, Irwin. Interment will follow at Immaculate Conception Cemetery, North Huntingdon.

Memorial contributions may be made to Promise Hospice, 121 N. Main St., Suite 310, Greensburg, PA 15601.