Edna Dorothy Eaton

Edna Dorothy Eaton, longtime Sidney area resident, passed away at Windsor Manor on March 27, 2020 following an extended illness. Edna was 82.

Edna was born March 21, 1938 on the family farm in Madison County, Iowa, the youngest of eleven children born to Walter Clifford and Marie Rose Lienemann.

Edna attended high school in DeSoto, Iowa, graduating in 1956. She was an outstanding basketball player earning honorable mention All-State honors. After graduation she attended Moorehead State College for a year before attending the University of Iowa, graduating in 1961 with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Her nursing career led her to the Cedar Rapids Public School System for a year, then to Hand Hospital in Shenandoah, Iowa, then to Hamburg, Iowa where she worked for many years at Grape Community Hospital serving as a floor nurse, surgical supervisor and Director of Nursing. While still employed at Grape she was instrumental in establishing Home Health Care services in Fremont County. Her nursing career then led her to a two-year stint at Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She concluded her career at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska as a medical reviewer, retiring in 2005. The highlight of her nursing career was her service on the Iowa State Board of Nursing for three terms during which she served as chairman for one term.

On July 1, 1962 she married Edward Eugene Eaton Jr.(Gene) of Sidney, Iowa. The couple resided in Sidney and area for the rest of her life. To this union, two sons were born, David Clifford and Thomas Eugene.

Edna loved the outdoors, particularly fishing, mowing, gardening, and spending time at the family cabin at Big Lake with her friends and family. She loved her many dogs and cats the family had over the years. Most important in her life were her four grandchildren. She loved watching all their activities and was so proud of all that they did.

Edna was active in the Sidney Booster Club during the years the boys were in school. Later interests and other activities included genealogical research of her own family and for others, service on the Board of FREDCO and her longtime service as a board member and treasurer for the Fremont County Historical Society.

Edna was preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Marie, and her 10 brothers and sisters, Walter(Kippy), Peter, Lawrence, Lowell, Elmer, Nile, Virgil, John, Rosie, and Clara.

She is survived by her husband Gene, her sons David(Pam), and Thomas(Amy), four grandchildren Wyatt, Ashley, Cordell and Emily, several nieces and nephews and a host of friends.

A private family funeral will be held on Monday, March 30, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. at Gude Mortuary in Nebraska City. The funeral service will be live-streamed on Gude Funeral Homes Facebook page.  A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date due to the Covid-19 regulations. Burial will be in Grandview Cemetery in rural Sidney, IA. Memorials may be directed to the Fremont County Historical Society, Sidney, Iowa.

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