Barbara Eaton

She was born on July 23, 1917 in Winchendon, Massachusetts, daughter of Gladys (Mitchell) and Fred Petts Wilkins. She grew up in Fitzwilliam and attended local schools, graduated from Keene High School and Becker College, Worcester, Mass.

She was a longtime member of St. James Episcopal Church, had served on both the Altar Guild and as a volunteer at the Thrift Shop for many years.

Mrs. Eaton was an ardent equestrian and regularly won prizes at horse shows throughout New England. As a young girl she preferred helping out at her father’s livery stable to more traditional women’s work. That early experience brought Mrs. Eaton many years of enjoyment on horseback until her doctors banned riding when she received her first pacemaker at the age of eighty. She taught riding at several summer camps in the Monadnock region as well as at Cushing Academy. Her knowledge of horsemanship proved useful to the local 4-H Clubs that she assisted as a resource for 15 years. She was a past member and former secretary of the New England Sled Dog Club and was frequently seen running her dog team on the back roads of the Fitzwilliam-Jaffrey area.

In addition, Mrs. Eaton was a past president of the Keene Business and Professional Women’s Club and a 75+ year member of the Order of the Eastern Star, including holding the position of chaplain and associate matron, The International Association of Personnel and Employment Security, American Horse Show Association and the New England Horseman Association.

Over her lifetime, Mrs. Eaton had been employed by the American Guernsey Cattle Club, Boston University’s Sargent Camp, the Hampshire Country School and the State of New Hampshire Employment Service.

Mrs. Eaton was predeceased by her parents, her twin sister, Beverly W. Smith; sister Priscilla Wilkins; and her husbands, Stephen B. Blair and Lester R. Eaton. Active until the end, she is mourned by many friends, new and old.