John Potter, 92-Year-Old WWII Vet, Buys Back Home From Daughter Who Tried To Evict Him
A 92-year-old World War II veteran, who was given an eviction notice by his daughter, will not lose his home thanks to nearly $140,000 raised online.
John Potter, of Zaleski, Ohio, was served with an eviction notice on his home of 54 years by his daughter Janice Cottrill and her husband Dean after she gained power-of-attorney rights to his home and sought to terminate his existing lease, NBC 4 reports.
After Potter’s dilemma was shared online, the decorated veteran and his granddaughter, Jaclyn Fraley, managed to raise $137,000 on GoFundMe.com to save his home. On Thursday, the pair purchased his home that was built nearly 60 years ago with his late wife.
"It's his home and he can look at it and know that it's his," Fraley said. "It's crowdfunding at its finest."
More than 5,000 people donated to save Potter’s home.
“Nobody gets to pull this crap on a fellow veteran. This is all I can afford right now, but you are more than welcome to it,” James Sueker writes in comment to his donation.
“I am in the Navy and I would just like to say thank you for your service. You deserve that house and every ounce of money that is being donated,” Mikayla Hintz wrote.
Potter is grateful for all his supporters. "I want to express my appreciation for all those people who helped me," Potter told ABC News. "It wasn't one person, it wasn't a hundred but over five thousand people and I certainly appreciate it more than they will ever know."
In 2004, Potter’s daughter used her power-of-attorney privileges to change the deed of the house to her name. In 2010, when the family made the discovery, his granddaughter took over as power of attorney, but it was too late to transfer the deed.
While a judge ruled in Potter’s favor to get his home back, his daughter won in the appeals court.
"Sadly once the property was granted back to them by the court of appeals, based on the statute of limitations having passed, we are left with no options," Fraley said.
On Wednesday, Potter and Fraley learned that their offer on the home was going to be accepted. "I think I shrieked for 10 seconds and started bawling," Fraley said describing her reaction to the news.
While Fraley refused to disclose the price that was accepted for the single-story home, she said the remaining money will be used for her grandfather’s care.
"I had this house for over 50 years before this took place," Potter said. "It just knocked me for a loop and I have worried all day every day ever since and now I am so happy I don't have to worry about it anymore."
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.