Florence Gail Eaton

My mother's love is something that no one can explain. It is made of deep faith and devotion with sacrifice and pain. It is endless and unselfish and enduring come what may ...for nothing can destroy it or take that love away. It is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaken and it never fails or falters. ...Even though the heart is breaking. It believes beyond believing when the world around condemns; and it glows with all God's beauty of the rarest brightest gems. Nana Gail's love is far beyond defining...It defies all explanation. It seems like Mary’s secret mystery of Jesus; in creation. My Mom is a many splendored miracle no one can understand .... another wonder of our Jesus light and evidence of God's most tender guiding hand.

The Life History of Florence Gail Hall Eaton began in 1935 in Staten Island, New York. She was the oldest of three children born to Florence Cadigan and John Hall. Florence Gail Hall, Judy Hall, and Charlie Hall. Gail went to Catholic elementary schools and was promoted in the third grade for advanced reading. She graduated from Curtis High School on Staten Island and  was admitted to Cornell’s school of nursing in Manhattan, New York. Gail added credits while attending Notre Dame college for one and a half years with additional courses at New York University. She has 65 credits at Wagner and Notre Dame on Staten Island where she met my father Peter Thomas Eaton Senior. After graduating with a bachelor of science from Cornell in nursing, mom served 3 years in the US army medical nursing corps beginning in 1956 and trained in Fort Sam Houston. Mom received request to work in WRAMC, the Walter Reed army medical center in Washington DC. Her husband Peter worked for David Taylor model basin in Potomac, Maryland. Peter had graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering and attended the prestigious Guggenheim engineering laboratory which had a super Sonic wind tunnel four times the speed of sound in New York. Later he was asked to join NASA in DC and manage the Delta expendable launch vehicle rocket program and was manager on Independence Avenue and launched communication satellites for many countries. In 1986, Peter Eaton worked on the Star Wars program with Ronald Reagan and NASA.

Gail Eaton worked the neurosurgical floor under the guidance of Major Laplant at Walter Reed. She enjoyed the army with many new friends and made first lieutenant in 6 months. Peter and Gail planned the wedding in Staten Island and bought a home in Silver Spring. They had to leave the army when the first of four children was born. Alison Michelle Eaton. The last 20 years of Gail’s nursing career was at Montgomery General Hospital's med surgical floor in Olney Maryland from 1971 to 1991. Gail and Peter purchased Kinderton Manor Bed and Breakfast Inn. During this time Peter was diagnosed with lung cancer and received treatment at Duke. They retired to Clarksville Kinderton Manor. This bed and breakfast is on the Kinderton golf course hole number 5 was already established by Betty Joseph family. It was surrounded by Donald Ross golf
course and provided a wonderful life as Peter responded to treatments as Clarksville encouraged him 26 more years after diagnosis. Mom always felt a special blessing had come from Magicoria when family members lifted up the special Marion blessing for Peter, my dear father passed away November 14th of 2013 and Gail has been running Kinderton for the past 33 years. Many weddings in town including the daughter of Ace Hardware owners and many local special weddings and cotillions have been held at Kinderton Manor. Mom raised a lot of awareness around the Cancer Walk for life and sponsored many special events at Kinderton Manor. Florence Gail Hall Eaton has a special brick at the Veterans memorial honoring her service. Gail has four children, ten grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren, most of whom live in Maryland. Gail was able to meet the newest great-granddaughter born this October named Carter Jean. Her second daughter Keith and Deirdre Kyger are local to Bluestone on Brankley Farm Road in Clarksville.

Our family invites all to a prayer service at St. Catherine's formal Mass this Saturday, December 30th at 11: 00am with a reception to follow and a private burial graveside service will be conducted. Please pray and know how much she cared about Clarksville and all the individuals who have made her life here richly blessed and full. Florence Gail Eaton had attended the 75th anniversary of Saint Catherine's as one of her last outings and hosted this past Thanksgiving, a beautiful gathering of her friends and family. We are grateful to all of you for years of friendship and inspiration. For further information, call 703-994-6253.