By Kelley Kepler
Catholic Herald
Ashland's Eatons share faith-filled family tradition
ASHLAND --After Sunday morning Mass, the Eaton siblings, spouses and children gather for breakfast and conversation at their mother's house in Ashland. The tradition has gone on for as long as they can remember, and the Eatons say they even show up on Sundays when their mother, Mary, is not home.
Fr. John Eaton, OFM, Pastor at St. Louis Parish in Washburn, had the opportunity to move back to northern Wisconsin last summer after serving for nearly 16 years in Louisiana and Arkansas. Now, for the first time, all nine siblings are living in or around Ashland, and they say catching up is easier than ever.
Besides Sunday breakfasts at Mom's house, the Eatons have some other notable traditions. One is their liking for gag gifts. A family member once got taco-shaped gum as a present. Everyone enjoys giving Elvis memorabilia to Mary, and now she has quite the collection. The only problem? She doesn't like Elvis.
Another tradition is the newspaper. Many years ago, Anne and Sue started creating a family newspaper. Published sporadically and distributed on Sunday mornings, the paper contains made-up stories about family members, contests and bits of family trivia. "It's good for laughs and keeping in touch," Sue said.
Fr. John calls the family "an interesting bunch of people." All are career orientated and highly involved in their church and community. The list (from oldest to youngest) may seem daunting.
* Jeanne works at New Day shelter.
* Fr. John is pastor in Washburn.
* Anne is a reading specialist.
* Kathy is a third grade teacher.
* Br. Tom, also a Franciscan, is a teacher at Our Lady of the Lake school.
* Sue is an emergency room nurse.
* Karen is a speech language pathologist.
* Bob is circuit court judge in Ashland County.
* Dave, a lawyer, is principal of Our Lady of the Lake School.
According to Mary, the family has a "deep faith" that goes way back. Mary volunteers much of her time to help with parish activities. She has been co-chair of the funeral lunch committee for over 25 years, co-chairs the prayer circle, sends cards to the ill and works as a greeter and lay minister.
Her children are also active in parish life. As Karen said, "If there is a need, we help out." She said the family is continually planning new fund-raisers for the parish and school. Last year, they had an auction and this year they're holding a garage sale. Anne and Sue have been organizers of the craft part of the holiday bazaar for the past four years. Anne makes warm quilts that she donates to the parish.
Karen added that she has been playing the guitar and singing in the parish choir since she was in seventh grade. Most of the family, in fact, is active in the choir, and Dave selects the songs to fit the readings.
Dave also leads a youth group that meets once a week after school. He enjoys preparing activities in game show format, and highlights are "Religion Jeopardy" and "Who Wants to Go to Heaven." He is also chairman of the cemetery board and is working on his master's degree in education.
Dave's nephew, John Paul, enjoys having his uncle as a principal, even though he jokes that Dave seems to be there every time he turns around. John Paul and his siblings and cousins are the fourth generation of Eatons to attend Our Lady of the Lake School. The children and their parents even reminisce about having the same teachers.
Also active at the school is Br. Tom, who teaches computer and gym classes, coaches and acts as playground supervisor. According to the Eatons, Br. Tom "spiffs up" old computers that people have donated. Br. Tom says he often buys computer parts and motherboards over the Internet and has built at least a dozen computers over the years.
Bob coaches basketball and volleyball for Our Lady of the Lake teams. He is on the education committee and finance council and often acts as a liaison between the school and the council. Bob said the family's "faith in action" goes back to his parents who "very quietly but consistently tried to make their corner of the world a little better."
Patti, Bob's wife, stressed that going to church is an active, weekly activity. "When kids are born, they go to church right away, and then they go to Grandma's afterwards," she said.
Mary said, "We have a deep faith in God and trust things will be okay and work out." She added that her strong faith and supportive family have helped her through many difficult times, especially after the death of her husband, Jack, in 1990, and her heart attack last June. The heart attack occurred right before Mass, and she believes she pulled through because so many people prayed for her that day.
The setting of the Eatons' weekly gatherings also deserves some attention. Mary and Jack bought the house nearly fifty years ago, and the Eatons have fond memories of growing up there. They said Jack remodeled the whole house, especially the kitchen, and also dug the basement out by hand. "He trained us to be his gophers, but he always made sure we were safe," Karen said. Mary reminisced about the cave-ins and her husband's inability to keep track of his tools. "He was always asking me to hold some piece in place while he tracked down his hammer," she said.
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2002