Lineman electrocuted on the job was beloved father, respected coworker

RUTLEDGE, Tenn. ( WATE ) — Linemen at Appalachian Electric Cooperative are remembering their coworker and friend after he was fatally electrocuted on the job.

Appalachian Electric announced the death Tuesday , saying a lineman was electrocuted while crews were working to install a new service in Grainger County.

The lineman was later identified as 39-year-old Nathan Potter. His coworker, Shane Alvey, described him as a skilled worker who’s been in the field for over a decade.

“It’s still tough to process and it’s just going to take a long time. It’s just not going to be the same without Nathan Potter,” Alvey said.

According to his friends, he was more than just a hard worker. Potter was also a husband and father to three girls.

“They’ve got an 11-year-old, a year-and-a-half-old, and a four-month-old, and they depended on Nate for a lot of things, not just financially,” said coworker Matthew Farris. “He was a supportive husband. He was a supportive dad. Those girls worshipped him and they did everything with him.”

Farris said Potter and his family lived in New Market, and his death has affected the entire community there.

Farris and Potter’s families became close over the years. Farris’s wife started an online fundraiser to help support Potter’s wife, who is a stay-at-home mom, through this hard time.

“He would do it for any of us,” Farris said. “He was a fighter. He was a strong-willed person. He’d bend over backwards to do anything he could to help any of our families so it’s only right that we come do this stuff for him.”

The loss of their friend is also highlighting the dangers of the job.

“We have safety meetings on Monday mornings. You hear about stuff like that happening out somewhere else,” said lineman Brock Johnson. “It crosses your mind but never in a thousand years do you think it’s going to happen at home. Not going to happen to the guy you work beside everyday.”

TOSHA is investigating the circumstances that led up to the electrocution. The investigation could take up to six months.

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