Patricia Faye Eaton, 77, passed away early Monday morning, July 15, at her garden home in Columbus, Nebraska. She was born June 26, 1947, in Norton, Kansas, the daughter of Paul M. Smith and Neva Mae (Rowley) Smith, granddaughter of Ethel Frazier Rowley.
Patricia grew up in Lenora Kansas, raised by her Grandmother Ethel, and graduated from Lenora High School. She was joined in marriage to Robert Edwin Eaton January 22, 1965, at the St. Joseph Catholic Church in New Almelo, Kansas.
She and her husband lived in numerous towns and cities in Kansas, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, Kentucky, eventually settling in Columbus, Nebraska. Through the years she held a variety of jobs including waitressing, hotel clerk, packing house worker, Sheriff’s Deputy and Dispatcher, and truck harness manufacturing. She finished the last 18+ years of her working career as a USDA inspector. She attended Emporia State Teachers college in Emporia, Kansas studying Psychology and Criminal Justice. She also attended and graduated from Central Community College in Columbus, Nebraska. She was also a full time Mom.
She is remembered by her husband, Robert; their three sons and one daughter and their spouses: Ed and Mary Eaton, Grapevine, TX, Dan and Monica Eaton, O’Neill, NE, Tanya (Eaton) and Randy Stava, Santaquin, UT, Austin Eaton, Yankton, SD; five grandchildren; four great grandchildren, and her two sisters, Judy Peay, Phoenix, AZ and Shernie Finch, Black Mountain, NC.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her grandmother.
Funeral services will be held 10:30 am Friday, July 19, 2024 at the funeral home. Burial will follow in the Lenora South Cemetery, Lenora, KS. Visitation will be held from 5-7:00 pm Thursday, also at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to Paws and Claws Adoption Center of Columbus, NE. Condolences may be left at www.plumergobber.com