In Memory: Bob Eaton 1942 - 2024

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[],"markups":[],"sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"After suffering a\nbrain hemorrhage on New Year\u2019s Day, Robert Jan Eaton, 81, died peacefully on\nJanuary 3, 2024 with Susan, his wife of 38 years, at his side. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Bob was the only\nchild born to Jesse H. and Elizabeth (Belle) Marquez Carson Eaton on October\n22, 1942 in Kansas City, Missouri. He spent his youth in Gila, New Mexico where\nhis parents operated a chicken ranch. He graduated from Cliff High School in\n1960 and attended New Mexico State University in Las Cruces before transferring\nto the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque where he earned a Bachelor of\nArchitecture degree in 1967."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Upon graduating, Bob\nfound himself strongly desired by the local draft board during the Vietnam\nConflict and saw the wisdom of attending Officer Candidate School. He served in\nthe U.S. Army at several stateside posts and in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam\nas a Platoon leader. Bob was lucky enough to be in the first reduction of\ntroops in 1969 and fulfilled his service stationed in Hawaii. He was honorably\ndischarged from Combat Engineers Unit Command in 1970 and began a fifty-year\ncareer in Architecture which brought him to Utah."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Although known as\nStretch for much of his life, he began his professional career as Bob. His work\nleft a legacy of airport projects in Utah, California and Nevada, and state\nwide projects throughout Utah. He spent his last few years working with the\nNavajo tribe in New Mexico and Arizona designing schools, government buildings,\nand medical facilities. He served his state and profession by serving on the\nProfessional Regulatory Board for the State of Utah and as President of both\nthe local and statewide organizations of the American Institute of Architects.\nHe also served as a School Board Member for the Salt Lake City District School\nfor the Arts."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Bob developed a great\naffection for the Navajo people and culture. His favorite place to visit was\nSanta Fe, New Mexico where he could not get enough of art galleries, green\nchili and the ambiance of his home state. Although he grew up in rural New\nMexico on, as he termed it, tumble weeds and rattle snakes, one of his favorite\nthings was performances of Ballet West in Salt Lake City where he served as a\ngoverning board member. Bob loved music and played bass guitar for several\ncountry western dance bands throughout high school and college. His taste in\nmusic and art became very eclectic and, when once asked to name his favorite\nsingers, he answered: Willie Nelson, Luciano Pavarotti and Linda Ronstadt. Bob\nloved to ski, swim, sail and scuba dive. In his last years, he turned to\nwriting as a hobby and published a fictional novel based upon his ancestor\u2019s\nbeginnings and lives as pioneers in southwest New Mexico. He felt an urgency to\ncomplete that novel before Christmas and was blessed to see that accomplishment\nin print prior to his passing."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Bob is survived by\nhis beloved wife, Susan Rae Wiser Eaton; three children: Heidi Vail (Sam)\nWainer, Joshua Ladd (Suzette) Eaton and Christina (David) Riches; seven\ngrandchildren: Tobin, Kai, Isaac, Emery, Madeline, Nicholas, and Sydney; his\nfirst wife Merla Jean Cook Eaton and many beloved family members and friends.\nBob was a person of integrity and was committed to hard work. He spent his life\ndevoted to treating others as he wished to be treated and made every effort to\nbefriend others. Bob was an honorable man with a pure soul and will be greatly\nmissed. May he rest in peace."]]]]}