'I never knew people could love an old man so much': WWII vet, 91, 'saved from daughter's eviction' after $138,000 raised online

  • John Potter is facing eviction from the home he built over 50 years ago
  • His daughter is the person kicking him out as she wants to sell the property and put him in a home
  • The pair have fallen out over care for her brother who is autistic
  • Potter's grand-daughter has sided with him and launched the campaign to try and raise the money to buy him back his home

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 13:32 EST, 21 May 2013 | UPDATED: 13:36 EST, 21 May 2013


A 91-year-old WWII veteran fighting to prevent his daughter from evicting him from his Ohio home has raised more than $138,000 from online donors to buy back his home, easily surpassing his goal.

John Potter says he's 'amazed' by the more than 5,000 people who have donated toward his original $125,000 goal while telling his granddaughter, Jaclyn Fraley, 'I never knew people could love an old man so much.'

After Mr Potter's daughter sent him an eviction notice earlier this year, Ms Fraley organized the desperate fundraiser for him in April while sharing with the public his dire situation.

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Success! John Potter, 91, seen earlier this year during his campaign to buy back his home, says he's 'amazed' by the more than 5,000 people who have donated beyond his $125,000 goal

Success! John Potter, 91, seen earlier this year during his campaign to buy back his home, says he's 'amazed' by the more than 5,000 people who have donated beyond his $125,000 goal

Evicted: Earlier this year Mr Potter's daughter, Janice Cottrill, sent him an eviction notice after she illegally signed over this home he built 53-years old to her name

Evicted: Earlier this year Mr Potter's daughter, Janice Cottrill, sent him an eviction notice after she illegally signed over this home he built 53-years old to her name, according to his granddaughter

Donations immediately poured in from around the world from those touched by the military veteran in Zaleski, Ohio whom they too called 'grandpa.'

This week the fundraiser passed its goal just in time for Mr Potter's 92nd birthday on Thursday.

In 2004, as Ms Fraley tells, Mr Potter was battling a serious illness when he handed his general power of attorney rights to his daughter, Janice Cottrill.

Unbeknownst to Mr Potter, she used that power to convey the deed to the one-story, three-bedroom home he built 56-years ago to herself.

 

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Mr Potter says he can't understand how his family would turn on him like this.

'When I got out of the army and got on my feet on the ground, I rented a power shovel and dug a hole in the ground, built a basement and built a house on top of it,' he told ABC of the home.

He doesn't believe the house is worth all that much, having built it with the sole and simple purchase of housing his family.

When Mr Potter learned of the deed transfer in 2010 he switched power of attorney to his granddaughter, Jaclyn, who's now 35.

Jaclyn Fraley, 35, hasn¿t spoken to her mother and stepfather in two years since she learned about their plan to place her grandfather in a nursing home

Jaclyn Fraley, 35, hasn¿t spoken to her mother and stepfather in two years since she learned about their plan to place her grandfather in a nursing home

Early this year Janice Cottrill and her husband Dean sent her father an eviction notice, saying she they had terminated his 'existing lease'

Early this year Janice Cottrill and her husband Dean sent her father an eviction notice, saying she they had terminated his 'existing lease'

She hasn’t spoken to her mother and stepfather in two years since she learned about their plan to sell her grandfather's home and place him in a nursing home.

Mr Potter has already attempted to sue to get his home back, arguing that his daughter had transferred the deed to herself illegally.

He initially won a county court ruling, but last year an appeals court ruled that because the statute of limitations of four years had passed on the accusation of fraud the deed could not be handed back to Mr Potter.

Early this year, Janice Cottrill and her husband Dean sent her father an eviction notice, saying she they had terminated his ‘existing lease.’

Ms Fraley said her grandfather and her mom had argued over visitation rights for Mr Potter's autistic son, Joe, who Mrs Cottrill took over custody for in 2008.

‘I laid awake at night trying to figure out what in the world I could have done to these people to make them so angry at me,’ he told WCMH earlier this year.

Potter turns 92 later this month and his grand-daughter says she would love to be able to give him back the rights to his home for his birthday

Potter turns 92 this week and his grand-daughter says she would love to be able to give him back the rights to his home for his birthday

With an eviction hearing due to take place on June 12, time was steadily running out for the aging vet who fought against the Japanese in the Pacific and also worked as a train dispatcher for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.

In a bid to try and raise the money to buy his home back, granddaughter Fraley launched her campaign on GoFundMe.com, the crowd-fundraising site.

'John Potter just wants to live what remaining life he has left in the home he built with his wife, in which he raised his family, and has lived for the last 56 years,' Fraley wrote on the site.

With the money raised, she believes he now has a fair shot.

'As the donations keep coming, please know any money we have raised above the cost of the house will go to anything Grandpa may need for the house or what is needed to take care of him in his home,' Ms Fraley wrote while promising to keep those funds 100 transparent.

Ms Fraley says she plans to throw her grandfather a potluck dinner in his home on Saturday to celebrate his birthday this week.

Video: John Potter says thanks to those people to have contributed to helping him

Comments (63)

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I just wanna hug him! Poor sweetie! I don't know how that woman sleeps at night. I'm so glad this is news. Now everyone knows about her evil actions. I hope it haunts her to her grave. But...I bet he wants nothing more than her love. I pray she repents before it's too late

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Bless his sweet heart! Thank God he has an honest granddaughter, because his daughter is a total loser.

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May G-d Bless this, and all American and Allied Veterans of WWII. Someone should kick his daughter in the head.

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This man may have not been blessed with a loving daughter - but, god more than made up with it by blessing him with an extremely loving, supportive and caring daughter. How wonderful for her for stepping up and protecting her grandfather. And how wonderful that so many people came forward to donate to this cause.

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Someone should beat his daughter with a shovel. Oh wait, by the looks of her face, someone already did!

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Good luck to you Sir. You should be honored not evicted. You fought for our freedom and now your daughter, who would not be here without you, is making you fight for yours. Kudos to your granddaughter.

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Good for the strangers who stepped up for this hero (all veterans are heroes in my eyes) and especially his granddaughter who didn't turn her back on him. I hope this man can live out rest of his days in peace without his daughter doing more harm.

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I wonder how the daughter justified her theft. Because that's what thieves do before they steal.

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He may have contemplated the risk of being stabbed in the back whilst serving in the Pacific, but I'll wager he didn't expect his daughter and son-in-law to attempt it. Good God, the things they'll try just to get their grubby little hands on money - how utterly pathetic. Good luck to the old boy, and best wishes for his 92nd birthday this Thursday. Here's hoping he he finds it easier to sleep from now on - which is a damned sight more than his wretched daughter deserves.

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The daughter had no intention of paying for his nursing home. You see nursing homes can take everything you've got and saved for before they apply for the government to start paying - and they take your social security too. They can go back years to see where your asstes have gone as well and sue your family for the funds if they suspect that you dumped your assets before going into a home. I know it's hard work and expensive, but sometimes I think it's a racket.

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