“Norm was a great humanitarian who genuinely cared about people. You meet someone like that only once or twice in your life,” said City of Mississauga Ward 11 councillor George Carlson who, along with Mayor Hazel McCallion, presented Potts with the award at City Council. “He was a great raconteur, with a phenomenal memory, who loved to share his stories of local history.”
Potts died June 13 at Credit Valley Hospital. He was 90.
Potts worked at the Bank of Nova Scotia until his retirement in 1987. He got his first full-time job at the Streetsville branch in 1938. He worked there for the first three-and-a-half years of what turned out to be a 40-year career in banking and had been a customer of the local branch for decades.
“We used to keep a gun in our desks,” recalled Potts in an interview two years ago with The News. “Jack Wright (a colleague) and I used to walk up to Main St. every day to collect the cash that came into the post office by CP Express. We each had a .38 in our pockets.”
In those days, said Potts, you started as a junior, became a ledger keeper after three years and, finally, moved up to teller.
“In a place like Streetsville, you get to know the customers much better than when you were in the city,” said Potts, who was president of the Streetsville Historical Society for 12 years.
Potts was predeceased by his wife of 50 years, Muriel Elma. He leaves behind daughters Marilyn and Nancy.
jchin@mississauga.net
