Contributed photo
John L. "Jay" Pottenger, Jr. (center), surrounded by legal students and colleagues.
John L. “Jay” Pottenger, Jr., Yale law professor and tireless advocate for fair housing, died peacefully on Thursday, February 23, 2023 at Connecticut Hospice, surrounded by his wife, Sue, and his three children Will, Jack, and Emma. In 2021, he was diagnosed with an advanced stage urologic cancer, and his bravery and humor in the face of this illness was extraordinary. He was always grateful for the exceptional medical and surgical care he received at Smilow Cancer Hospital.
Jay was born on March 3, 1950 to John L. Pottenger, Sr. and Tavia Morgan Pottenger in Chicago, Il, and before the age of 15 had called several midwestern cities home. As the eldest of six gifted children, he had tremendous love for his siblings Marty, Lynn, Candy, Bill, and Betsy.
After attending Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, PA, he went on to dabble in several academic pursuits at Princeton University, before settling on Urban Affairs. He was an avid member of the Speech and Debate team, a protester of the Vietnam War, and a passionate bridge player. After Princeton, he attended Yale Law School, graduating in 1975.
After two judicial clerkships and a few years at Paul Weiss in New York City, Jay devoted his career to the Yale Law School clinical programs, where his wide-ranging service work included legislative advocacy, prison legal services, trial practice, landlord/tenant law, and professional responsibility. The true north of his work was housing and community development, through which he has made an extraordinary difference in the Greater New Haven and larger Connecticut communities. He was a tireless advocate for affordable housing, and took great pleasure in taking on any institution or individual in the name of justice. Jay’s passion for housing justice was also expressed through Open Communities Alliance, an organization he helped to co-found that aims to unwind Connecticut’s history of government-perpetuated segregation and focuses on reducing social, economic, and health disparities experienced by low-income families of color.
Outside of his legal work, he served on numerous nonprofit boards, and he was an avid sports fan with a particular passion for Liverpool Football Club, the Steelers, and the White Sox. Despite his professional responsibilities, he somehow managed to attend every soccer game and tennis match in which his children ever played, and was a long-time board member of the Branford Soccer Club. Jay also took great pride in his night-owl habits, and his ability to get anywhere faster than the GPS predicted. He also loved excellent wine, and covertly organized most family travel around visiting the best vineyards in the world.
A brilliant, humble man, Jay’s legacy includes countless law school graduates who have gone out into the world carrying Jay’s creativity, positivity, and dedication to service. He spared innumerable clients legal jeopardy, and treated them with dignity no matter the ultimate result. He had colleagues and friends on both sides of the pond and all over the world. But for all his accomplishments, Jay’s greatest source of pride was his loving family.
Relatives and friends are invited to a visitation Sunday afternoon from 3:00 – 6:00 PM at the W. S. Clancy Memorial Funeral Home, 244 North Main Street, Branford. A funeral service will be held Monday morning at 11:00 in Trinity Episcopal Church, 1109 Main Street, on-the-green, in Branford. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Open Communities Alliance (www.ctoca.org), or the Greater Dwight Development Corporation (www.gddcnh.org). For directions and online memorial see www.wsclancy.com.