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OBITUARY

Tysha Shea Potter Van Becelaere

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Tysha Shea Potter Van Becelaere, 58, passed away on Dec. 12, 2022.

She was born on Oct. 14, 1964, in Pittsburg, to Jim Potter and Linda Rogers Potter. She moved to Overland Park, Kansas, as a child and graduated from Shawnee Mission West High School in 1983.

She married Dennis Van Becelaere on Aug. 16, 1997, at the Stilwell Hotel in Pittsburg. He survives of the home.

Tysha studied pre-law at Johnson County Community College. Tysha then started at Pittsburg State University in 1992 and never left. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in social sciences in 1995 and a master's degree in psychology with a clinical emphasis in 1998, with Graduate Dean's Scholastic Honors. While in college, she worked at Hooter's in Overland Park and as a graduate assistant at Pittsburg State. Following graduation, she became an instructor in the Department of Psychology and Counseling in 1998, where she was a passionate, caring, and beloved teacher for 22 years. Tysha loved her students, and they loved her back. She was awarded Most Outstanding Faculty three times, Most Supportive Faculty, and Greek Outstanding Faculty.

She was a tireless advocate for individuals with autism. She presented alongside the Governor and Senators of Missouri to advocate for autism insurance legislation and was a member of the Kansas Coalition for Autism Legislation and SafeMinds. Tysha was a lover of her family, books, fashion, music, the arts, animals, history, genealogy, travel, the ocean, and health and wellness. She was passionate about God, children with special needs, the environment, psychology, politics, Pittsburg State University, her students, human potential, and all the people whom she loved.

Additional survivors include two sons, Jesse (Madeline) Niebaum of Portland, Oregon, and Xander Van Becelaere of Provo, Utah; mother, Linda Rogers Richardson of Pittsburg; sister, Polly Potter Daniels (Vince) of Pittsburg; niece and nephew, Samantha and Tye Cicero; cousins, Cindy Potter Van Becelaere (Rusty) of Pittsburg, Candice Robinson Diddle (Jerry) of Overland Park, Kim Hersh Taylor (Phil) of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Amy Potter Schmutz (Phillip) of Savanna, Georgia; stepbrother, David (Ann) Richardson; and friend, Marla Edin (Chris) of Gravois Mills, Missouri.

She was preceded in death by her father, Jim Potter; stepfather, Ellis Richardson; uncles, Larry and David Potter; grandparents, Vola and John Rogers and Katherine and Leonard Potter; and stepbrother, Scott Richardson.

Services will be at 2 p.m. at the Pittsburg Nazarene Church on Dec. 21. Burial with family will follow at Highland Park Cemetery. Memorial donations can be made to the Tysha Potter Memorial Scholarship at http://www.pittstate.edu/tyshapotterscholarship.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Brenner Mortuary, 114 E. 4th St., Pittsburg, Kansas.