Gary Thomas Eaton

NHS Class Of

1982 Graduate

Gary Thomas Eaton, 43, of Long Beach, Calif., husband of Kim (Yancey) Eaton and father of Alyssa Marie Eaton, died suddenly January 26 at Long Beach Community Hospital. He was born in Bridgeport on December 19, 1964.

Mr Eaton was raised in the Sandy Hook section of Newtown, attended local schools, and was a graduate of Newtown High School, Class of 1982. His quick wit and good sense of humor was a memorable charm of his personality. He made friends easily and had many of them. He had many interests and talents and particularly enjoyed playing guitar, piano, the harmonica, and writing songs. He also enjoyed photography, painting, gardening, and landscaping.

In 1989, Mr Eaton left Newtown on a motorcycle adventure to Yellowstone Park, down the northwest coast, and on to California where he eventually settled and started his own landscaping company called Garden-of-Eaton, Inc. He obtained his horticulture license and installed sprinkler systems, patios, stonewalls, and gardens. Over the years, he did work on many celebrity estates and tended their gardens.

Mr Eaton also loved sailing and eventually purchased a sailboat on which he lived for ten years. He enjoyed sailing frequently to Catalina Island and scuba diving off the California coast.

His daughter Alyssa was the love of his life and she adored him immensely. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

Mr Eaton was the beloved son of Thomas J. Eaton and his wife, Elizabeth L. Eaton, of Sandy Hook and Shirley B. Wendling and her husband, Edgar F. Wendling, Jr, of Warrensburg, N.Y. He was a beloved big brother to Karen Hensel and her husband, Ken, of Sandy Hook and to Kristen Eaton Werden and her husband, Carl, of Southbury, and uncle to their children, Kyle, Jordan, and Brandon Hensel, and Delaney Werden.

He is survived by his aunts and uncles and cousins, James Buckley of Castleton, N.Y., Beverly Cornell and her husband Jack of Hudson, N.Y., and cousins, Leanne, Jessica, Erika. and Bryan, Paul Eaton and his wife, Kathy, of Salem, Mary Smith and her husband, Garry, of Stratford, Ruth Eaton, wife of the late Jack Eaton of Newtown, and cousins, Michael Eaton, Jennifer Oloski, Courtney and Brian Smith, and Shane and Chad Eaton. Mr Eaton is also survived by a step-brother, Joseph T. Rogers and his wife, Gwen, of Callahan, Fla.; and two step-sisters, Mary E. Glisson and her husband, Donnie, of Jacksonville, Fla., and Jamie B. Annes of Waterbury and her children, Kersti, Nathan, Thomas, Christopher, and Stephanie.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 2, at 2 pm, in the Honan Funeral Home, 58 Main Street, Newtown, with the Reverend Matt Crebbin officiating. Interment will follow in Zoar Cemetery, Sandy Hook. Friends may call Saturday from 11 am to 2 pm.

Memorial donations to the Alyssa Marie Eaton Education Fund, C/O Wachovia Bank, 7 Queen Street, Newtown CT 06470 will be gratefully appreciated.

The Newtown Bee        February 1, 2008