Emogene Williams Eaton

Emogene Eaton of Warrenton passed away peacefully on Monday, August 19 after a prolonged illness.  She was an employee of the Town of Warrenton for fifty years.

Born a preacher's daughter on a farm near Bogalusa Louisiana during the Great Depression, Emogene lived a full and rich life. She graduated from Rayville High School where she was a scholar athlete – playing softball and basketball. After graduation, she attended Lee Bible College in Tennessee.  

She met her husband Douglas at her place of work, the Atlas Powder dynamite plant in Tennessee.  The two liberals living in the south bonded when hearing the Supreme Court decision of Brown v Board of Education ruling in 1954.  They shared 38 years together and raised seven children.

They moved to California in 1955, and then on to Warrenton, Virginia in 1966. Almost everyone seemed to know her.  Emogene was the first den mother of an integrated Cub Scout Pack and later helped with a troop for those with special needs. She started working for the Warrenton Police Department in 1968  as a crossing guard, then as the dispatcher with a calm voice letting you know help was on the way, then as the records clerk.   At 70, she took her kind and friendly smile to the Warrenton Visitors Center, where she worked another 15 years until late 2019. Other jobs included delivering the Washington Star and working for the census.  

She was a tireless and dedicated member of the Fauquier County Democratic Committee, working on every election – local and national –  from 1972 up until 2019.  A fierce believer in democracy, she always carried a copy of the U.S.  Constitution with her, and would remind everyone it was their Constitutional privilege to vote in this very important upcoming election.

Emogene had the laugh you heard across the room, and made everyone feel at ease. Her kind heart let many into her home or for a place to pitch their tent when they needed a place to lay their head.

She was an avid sports fan, from football to baseball – she rewatched Game 7 of the Nationals winning the World Series more times than anyone would bother to count, and may have watched the Doug Williams Redskins 1988 Superbowl win even more. She loved watching basketball – especially the UConn women and UVA men’s teams. At one UConn game she caught the t-shirt from the cannon – and then her grandson Sean had to catch her.

She was a voracious reader who particularly loved mysteries, but also the Bible, reading it cover to cover seven times.

She is predeceased by her husband, Douglas and her brothers: Malcolm, Glenn, and James.

She is survived by her seven children: Phillip, Suzan, Mary, Jonathan, Kathleen (Patrick), Carolyn (John), and Malcolm (Faith);  her sister, Carolyn (who called every day), brothers John and Ken (Paula); five grandchildren: Caitlin and Sean Eaton-Robb (Hannah), William Alkire (Kennedy), Ra and Dae Eaton; and by cousins Grace DeLatour and Rolf Hokkanson.

Special thanks to her son Jonathan who was her caregiver for many years assisted by her son Phillip. Also special thanks to Hospice of Piedmont.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, September 21, 2024, at 11 am, at the Warrenton  Community Center, 430 E. Shirley Ave, Warrenton, VA, 20186, with a reception following.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of the Piedmont or Habitat for Humanity.

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