Rites Set for Doctor Eaton of Coronado

A memorial service will be held Saturday for Dr. Charles Henry Eaton, who died Friday at his Coronado home. He was 74.

Eaton practiced internal medicine in Coronado for 34 years, making house calls and keeping office hours seven days a week until he retired in 1986, said his wife, Jane Eaton.

Eaton was graduated from the Stanford Medical School in 1941, where he was elected a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.

After serving an internship at the Los Angeles County Hospital, Eaton received a commission from the Navy. He served at the Long Beach Hospital and with Marines at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands during World War II.

Eaton’s decorations included two Bronze Stars for meritorious service as a medical officer during the Korean War.

Eaton’s Naval career ended prematurely after he contracted polio in 1951. He was pictured in a Life Magazine photograph on canes, inoculating his daughter, Peggy, after the Salk polio vaccine was developed, his wife said.

Eaton was a native of Pittsfield, Mass. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and traced his family roots to the Mayflower. He was honored by the San Diego Chapter of the group with a Good Citizenship Award in 1963 for his service during World War II and the Korean War, and to his community.

Eaton was director of the Coronado Chamber of Commerce from 1956 to 1958. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Coronado and served as a vestryman at Christ Episcopal Church from 1979 to 1982.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Dr. Charles Henry Eaton III of Detroit, and three daughters, Anne Brown of Brentwood, Peggy Brown of Sparta, N.J., and Elaine Goldberg of Columbia, Md. He is also survived by his stepchildren, Caroline Murray of Coronado and Brian Murray of Encino, four grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.

The memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, at Christ Episcopal Church, 1208 9th St., Coronado. Instead of flowers, the family asks that contributions be sent to the Christ Episcopal Church Memorial Fund or to the American Diabetes Assn.