Gerry Hoey Obituary, Death – We like to convey our deepest condolences to you all as we share the news of the demise of our beloved Father and the Boss of Hoeys DIY, Gerry Hoey.
As a sign of respect, the physical location of Hoeys DIY will be closed from Wednesday, April 19, at 5:30 p.m., until Monday, April 24, at 8:00 a.m. My father, Gerry Potter, who passed away recently at the age of 63, was a medicinal chemist who devoted his career to the development of cancer treatments that saved lives. Abiraterone acetate, a medication used in hormone therapy, was developed by him and his colleagues at the Institute of Cancer Research in London in the early 1990s.
It was invented in 1993, and the FDA finally gave its approval in 2011. Since then, it has become one of the most successful therapies for advanced prostate cancer and is marketed under the brand name Zytiga. Gerry Potter was the third of six children to be born to Joyce Potter (née Wilson), a housewife, and Anthony Potter, who worked in the highways department of the Norfolk county government. Gerry was born in Rugby. When Gerry was six years old, his family relocated to Norwich, where he attended first St. Augustine’s Primary School in Costessey and subsequently Wymondham College. Gerry left school at the age of 16 after completing his O-levels and began working as a “lab lad” for a pharmaceutical business that was located nearby. He felt the need for a change one summer and decided to take a job at Butlin’s in Bognor Regis.
While working there, he met Cath Kay, who was attending Hull University at the time. He relocated to Hull, and the following year, in 1981, the couple tied the knot. They went on to have two sets of twin children: the first pair, Justina and I, and the second set, Danielle and Robert, who were born four years later. While Gerry was working in the laboratory of an edible oil refinery, he was also attending night classes for his Advanced Level studies in chemistry and mathematics. After that, he enrolled at Manchester University to pursue a degree in inorganic chemistry. In 1986, our family relocated to Manchester to be closer to him. After that, my father started working toward his lifelong goal of earning a doctorate in medicinal chemistry at the Institute of Cancer Research at the Royal Marsden hospital in London (which he accomplished in 1990). Gerry went on to work in the universities of Exeter and Lyon, both in France, as well as at a biotech company in Cambridge after the completion of the fruitful study that led to the development of abiraterone acetate.