Husband, father will be sadly missed

Stephen Potroz's widow Sally has not allowed herself time to think about the man she and her children have lost.

Mr Potroz, widely known as Potty, was electrocuted in a tragic accident at his Tarata farm on Friday afternoon when a fence wire he was carrying came into contact with an overhead powerline.

"I don't really want to let myself think about it actually, but I guess I'll cope somehow," his widow said yesterday from her home.

The 43-year-old father of three was just about to begin his fifth spring on the farm he grew up on and then bought from his father.

A shearer for 20 years, he was widely known around Taranaki and deeply involved in his community as a board of trustees member at Inglewood's Kaimata school, a councillor for Taranaki Fish and Game and a Taranaki indoor bowls representative.

"Six weeks after we met he asked to marry me," said Mrs Potroz. "I said, `OK but ask me again later' and six or eight months later he did and I said, `Yes'. I was quite sure by then."

The couple married in 1994, and had three children, Mark, 13, Ryan, 11, and Laura, 9.

Allen Stancliff, of Taranaki Fish and Game, said Potty's death was a huge blow for his family and for the organisation he was so enthusiastically involved in for eight years.

"He was a great councillor and a really good liaison between us and the farming community. If anything needed to be done Potty was the man to help out first. He was just an all round top guy and it is certainly a great loss to Fish and Game."

Fellow councillor Neville Moratti described Mr Potroz as a bloke you did not mind coming up your drive. His arrival meant a cold beer and a few laughs.

"Passionate, that's what I would say about him. When he put his mind on something he would get it done. Like he would organise a meeting at the Toko pub for duck hunters so he could find out what they wanted and bring that back to the council. That's the sort of thing we need and he was the sort of man who did those things."

A keen duck hunter and enthusiastic trout fisherman, Mr Potroz was often found at Lake Ratapiko, often teaching children how to hunt or fish.

Mr Moratti said the lake was like a second home to Mr Potroz, the tranquil waters being more his style than the rise and fall of the ocean.

"I took him out on my boat once and I've never seen a man so sick and black and blue. When we got back to land he told me he would never get in a boat again."