James N. Potratz, 59, of Hawkeye, died Saturday, January 5, 2013, at Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo, following a sudden illness.

Funeral services will be held 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, January 9, 2013, at the First Baptist Church in Sumner with Rev. Robert Burchfield officiating. Interment will be in Wilson Grove Cemetery, rural Sumner.   Friends may call from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 8, 2013, at Becker-Milnes Funeral Home in Sumner and for one hour preceding services at the church on Wednesday.  

James Neal, son of Orval and Variena Schulte Potratz, was born August 27, 1953, at Sumner, Iowa. He was baptized June 29, 1962, at the First Baptist Church in Elgin after he accepted the Lord as his savior. He graduated from Sumner High School in 1972, and attended North American Baptist College in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Jim worked with his uncle, Ed Schulte building homes on Cape Cod and also worked for a brief time on the Cape as a veterinarian technician. It was on Cape Cod that he met and married Lynda Herr and they were married on December 6, 1986, at Brewster Baptist Church. Shortly after the birth of their daughter in 1988, they moved to the Hawkeye area. Jim was a member of the First Baptist Church in Sumner. He enjoyed collecting license plates, fishing, hunting, breeding cockatiels, and reading, especially the bible.

In addition to his wife, Lynda of Hawkeye, he is survived by one daughter, Elsa Potratz of West Union; one granddaughter, Hailey Church, at home with her mother; his mother and stepfather, Variena and Loyd Hofer of Sumner; a sister, Linda (Roger) Hagedorn of Sumner; two brothers, Michael (Karin) Potratz of Sumner and Jeffrey (Patti Nefzger) Potratz of Fayette; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, and uncles.

He was preceded in death by his father.