Obituary of Jeffrey Eaton

Jeff Eaton passed away in Eugene on January 28, after a brief battle with cancer. He was born October 29, 1951, in Berkeley, California to Jerry Eaton and Nancy Zeitlin Eaton, who were students at the University of California. Jeff grew up in Volcano, HI, Denver, CO, and Los Altos, CA, all the locations of research centers where his father worked as a U.S. government seismologist. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of California (Berkeley) and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from the Cleveland Institute of Music. A position as a cellist in the Eugene Symphony brought him to Eugene in 1983. In addition to playing for the Symphony for more than 30 years, Jeff was the Managing Director and later Executive Director of the Oregon Mozart Players for over 14 of those years. He also served as Secretary-Treasurer of the local musicians’ union, Office and Development Manager for the Mt Pisgah Arboretum , and cellist in the Eugene Opera orchestra and several music festivals in the area. In recent years, he also pursued his lifelong passion for gardening as the owner of Jeff’s Garden of Eaton, which produced a wide variety of pepper and tomato plant varieties for local gardeners. Jeff was well known for his upbeat personality, kindness, and zest for life. He is sorely missed by his many friends and his three sisters and niece (Marian Eaton, Dana Foss, and Carol Britt, and Lindsay Kelly). A celebration of his life will be held at the First Christian Church, 1166 Oak Street in Eugene from 3:00 to 5:00 pm on Saturday, February 28, 2015. In lieu of flowers, Jeff asked that friends make a donation to the Oregon Mozart Players, P.O. Box 11474, Eugene, OR 97440.