Helen W. Potter, a former saleswoman and homemaker, died Saturday of pneumonia at Keswick Multi-Care Center. She was 106.

Mrs. Potter worked at Hutzler's department store in Baltimore from 1940 to 1962 when she retired. Earlier, she had taught school in Trappe.

Mrs. Potter resided in the 3500 block of Greenmount Ave. from 1919 to November 1988 when she broke a hip and eventually moved to Keswick.

Her grandson, Gilbert Potter of Baltimore, said she didn't ascribe her longevity to anything in particular. "She used alcohol moderately, kept active, read the newspaper everyday and seldom turned on the TV," he said.

The former Helen Welsh was born in Trappe, where her family had lived since the Revolutionary War. In 1916, she married Nathaniel Potter, a mechanical engineer who died in 1966.

A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. today at Springhill Cemetery, North and Hanson streets, Easton.

She is survived by a son, Keith Potter of Wheaton, Ill.; a daughter, Margaret Stevens of Pulaski, Tenn.; 12 grandchildren; and 24 great-grandchildren.

Pub Date: 9/30/98