Ruth "Loraine" Eaton

August 10, 1932 - January 12, 2021

In the first minutes of January 12, 2021 at the age of 88, Ruth Loraine Eaton left behind her injuries and ailments, to receive a glorified, perfect, and pain-free body in the presence of her LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ. Born on August 10, 1932, Loraine was the first-born of the three daughters of Loren and Lula (Woolston) Birdsall of Clare, Michigan. She married her childhood sweetheart, Leonard "Ted" Eaton of Harrison, MI on October 21, 1950. During their 70 years of marriage, they had three children, 8 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. While raising her children, Loraine studied music at Delta College near Bay City and graduated from the University of New Mexico with bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Piano Pedagogy. She had a passion and talent for piano and organ music. She shared that gift with many as a piano teacher for decades. She was a music, English, and substitute teacher in elementary schools in New Mexico and Michigan. She also served as a church organist and pianist for many years. She spent many blissful moments enraptured by well-presented pieces of music, of nearly any genre. Loraine also had a deep appreciation for the beautiful world God made. As a child she played with and nurtured the chickens, lambs, and cows on her parent's farm. As an adult she reveled in the water-colored, rocky vistas of the American southwest, the majestic diversity of National Parks, and the rolling fertile fields of her native home. She was often known to fall in love with a particular and often heavy rock on her travels, and Leonard was commissioned to bring it along. The flower gardens she enjoyed cultivating were often ornamented with these treasures. Loraine's dearest love, though, was faith and family, and the two were so intertwined they could never be separated. Children and grandchildren were truly a gift from God, and she and Leonard prioritized their celebrations and accomplishments. The Church and the Word of God were paramount, and the best examples, inspirations, and lessons were grounded in and girded by them. The family Loraine leaves behind is grateful for this foundation! In paradise, Loraine joins her parents, Loren and Lula, as well as her sister, Donelle Birdsall Raab. She is survived by her husband Leonard "Ted" Eaton, sister Darlene Case and her husband Richard, and her children - Judy Byler, Jerry Eaton, his wife, Connie, and Brenda Fellows and her husband Walter. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in memoriam of Loraine to: Brown Corners Church, 5540 S. Clare Ave., Clare, MI 48617 or Samaritan’s Purse (a ministry of Franklin Graham), PO Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607. There will be a celebration of Loraine Eaton’s life, at 2pm on January 16, 2021, at Brown Corners Church with Pastor Jeremiah Ketchum officiating. Due to state regulations, face masks for the service are required, and no additional public showing will be offered. Arrangements were handled by the Clare Chapel of Stephenson-Wyman Funeral Home. On-line guestbook at www.stephenson-wyman.com