Edie Eaton

Long-time Clarion resident Edie Eaton, 97, died from complications related to Covid-19 on December 23, 2020, in the Memory Care unit of the Springbrooke retirement facility in Denver, CO. She had been under Hospice care for almost a year.

Edie (Edith) was born in Hocking, IA on June 12, 1923, to Wilbert and Hazel (Williams) Bowe, and grew up in Chariton, IA. After graduating from Chariton High School in 1941, she enrolled in the University of Iowa, with the help of an uncle who loaned her the $300 tuition for the three-year program. She graduated with a degree from the College of Nursing in 1944. While at the U of I, Edie met Bob Eaton, who was in medical school at the time. They were married on October 4, 1944, in Iowa City.

After Bob completed his WW II service in the western Pacific, Edie and Bob moved to Clarion where Bob opened a practice of family medicine with medical school classmate Richard Young in 1947.

When looking back on her life in Clarion, Edie described herself as a “busy volunteer.” She was elected to the Clarion School Board in 1954 and served until 1959. An active member of the United Presbyterian Church for over 60 years, she served as an ordained Elder and Deacon as well as a Sunday School teacher. She led her children’s Cub Scout and Campfire Girl groups, supported her family’s school and community activities, and was involved herself in numerous community organizations. Edie was a member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood.

Edie and Bob were on the planning committee for The Meadows retirement community in Clarion and were among its first residents in 1993. The Eatons made their home at The Meadows for over 20 years. Bob often observed that Edie was “the Housemother” for The Meadows, welcoming new residents and helping them get acquainted and settled. Bob died in January 2014. Edie moved to Denver in 2015 to be closer to her family.

Edie was preceded in death by Bob, her husband of over 69 years, her parents and an older brother. She is survived by her three children: Bill (Daryl) Eaton of Tulsa, OK; Susie Pappas of Denver, CO; and David (Kristy) Eaton of Leawood, KS. She has seven grandchildren: Mike Eaton (Erin Williams) of Lakewood, CO; Diana (David) Schoell of Tulsa; Sara (Galen) Bellamy of Denver; Philip (Chelsey) Pappas of Wheat Ridge, CO; Chelsea (Jeff) Collins of Overland Park; KS; Callie Eaton and Alex Eaton, both of Prairie Village, KS. Edie has eight great-grandchildren.

Edie will be cremated and her ashes buried next to Bob’s in Clarion’s Evergreen Cemetery at a future date. Donations in Edie’s memory may be made to the United Presbyterian Church in Clarion, the Alzheimer’s Association, or a charity of one’s choice.