Marie Gooding Eaton, 90, died peacefully in her home, with her two sons by her side, on Wednesday, October 31, 2012. Born in Boston on August 5, 1922, she was the daughter of the late Frederic Gooding (originally of Portsmouth, New Hampshire) and Julia Papin Gooding (originally of St. Louis, Missouri). She was the wife of the late John Marshall Eaton, Jr., who died in 1997. Mrs. Eaton lived in Cambridge until she moved to Concord with her family in 1925, commencing a life-long association with Concord Academy. She first lived in Lee House, before her parents purchased what is now known as Aloian House, at 64 Main Street, in 1928. When she walked out the back door each morning, she was at school. Mrs. Eaton told the Concord Oral History Program in 2003 that her "life growing up centered around Concord Academy which over the years grew up around our house. I went there from kindergarten through 12th grade. I made good friends there and many of them are still my best friends." She was affectionately known to her "CA" friends as "Pudding". It was at the Academy that her love for the British monarchy first became evident – her yearbook page reported that "If anyone wants to know what the British Queen wore on May 11, 1939 we suggest consulting Pudding." She graduated from Concord Academy in 1940. In 1999, she co-authored The Story of the Concord Academy Houses, so that the "girls who came from other parts of the country" would know the history of the Academy buildings. Upon graduating from Concord Academy, Mrs. Eaton attended the Miss Amy M. Sacker School of Decorative Design and the Pierce Secretarial School, both in Boston. She then went to work for the British Naval Mission in Boston, which supplied troops for the ships that America was building to help the British in their fight against Nazi Germany. "It was a very exciting job," she said, "and made rationing seem like no hardship." Her work for the Mission cemented her love for England, and led to her frequent travels there the rest of her life. After the War, Mrs. Eaton worked as a secretary for the renowned architect, Walter Gropius. Mrs. Eaton knew her future husband from an early age as their parents were good friends, but John Eaton was more than four years her senior. She enjoyed telling her family that on their first date in 1943, Mr. Eaton took her dancing on the Ritz Roof in Boston when he was home on leave during World War II. Rekindling their romance after the War, they were engaged over Leif Nash's bar in the old Dovre Ski Binding factory in West Concord, and they were married in Rye Beach, New Hampshire in 1950. Mrs. Eaton was a long-time member and supporter of the Concord Independent Battery, and remembered her childhood days when she was awakened in the early morning darkness by the clatter of horses and gun carriages parading past her Main Street home as the Battery headed for Nashawtuc Hill to fire its Dawn Salute on Patriot's Day. In the '40s, '50s and '60s, she frequently appeared in productions by the Concord Players. She was especially proud of her 1952 role as Beth in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. She was a member of the Concord Country Club for most of her life, where she was often seen either on the golf course or having fun with her friends; she was also a member of the Ladies' Tuesday Club. Over the years, she volunteered at the Orchard House, the Concord Antiquarian Society, the Concord Free Public Library, Concord Academy, and the Moffatt-Ladd House in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. From 1970 to 1990, "after the kids were out of the house", Mrs. Eaton worked at the Stationers, Inc., a new Concord business started by her friends. Mrs. Eaton also loved to travel, and it was there that her adventurous side showed through. That spirit was more apparent than ever in the summer of 1964 when she loaded up the family station wagon and drove her young sons and nephews across America to meet up with John, who was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in San Francisco. That trip remains today the subject of great, and often embellished, stories among the cousins. Mrs. Eaton also overcame her fear of flying, with an assist from Jim Beam, to make frequent trips to Europe, especially to the British Isles, to Bermuda and to the Caribbean, always with family or friends. Mrs. Eaton was proud of her family heritage, both on her mother's side, which traces back to St. Louis founder Auguste Chouteau, and on her father's side, where her grandfather was the pastor of the South Parish Unitarian Church in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She also reveled in the history of Concord, whether it was about its Revolutionary War past, its literary age, or the history of her lifetime. If she was in Town, she never missed the Patriot's Day parade. Even at age 88, she had a roadside seat for the parade, cheering on the Concord Minutemen, the Battery, and the Fenn School Marching Band. But her pride never got in the way of her sense of humor – she once raised the Union Jack, a gift from the British Mission, atop the flag pole in Concord Center in the early morning hours one April 19th, just to see the look on the faces of proper Concordians. Mrs. Eaton also cherished spending summers in Rye Beach, New Hampshire where the family had a house, a few minutes' walk from the Atlantic Ocean, until 1984. Rye was a special place for family and friends, where she recharged her batteries by walking on the beach, swimming in the ocean, collecting "jewel money", and socializing at The Beach Club. Mrs. Eaton leaves two sons, Edward H. of Kensington, New Hampshire, and Robert G. of Rye, New Hampshire; a brother, Frederic Gooding, Jr. of Madison, Wisconsin; a sister, Eleanor Gooding Hallowell of Stamford, Connecticut; and four grandchildren – Julia, Kerry and David Eaton of Rye, New Hampshire, and Timothy Eaton of Kensington, New Hampshire. A funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, November 10, 2012, at Holy Family Parish, Monument Square, Concord Center, at 1:30 p.m. Burial following the Mass will be in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, where the Concord Independent Battery will present a final salute to Mrs. Eaton. Visiting hours will be held at the Dee Funeral Home, 27 Bedford Street, Concord Center on Friday, November 9th, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mrs. Eaton's memory may be made to Emerson Hospital, 133 Old Road to Nine Acre Corner, Concord, MA 01742 (www.emersonhospital.org) or to Concord Academy, 166 Main Street, Concord, MA 01742 (www.concordacademy.org). Cemetery: Burial following the Mass will be in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, where the Concord Independent Battery will present a final salute to Mrs. Eaton. Visitation: Visiting hours will be held at the Dee Funeral Home, 27 Bedford Street, Concord Center on Friday, November 9th, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Service: A funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, November 10, 2012, at Holy Family Parish, Monument Square, Concord Center, at 1:30 p.m. Burial following the Mass will be in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, where the Concord Independent Battery will present a final salute to Mrs. Eaton.