2/13/1909 – 12/28/1992
Ed was born in Chester, PA to Thomas Edward Eaton and Catherine Detweiler. When Ed was approximately 6 years old, his father died, his mother remarried Charles Ruth. The family, including Ed’s brothers, Brenton and Lee, and his sister Anna, moved to Upland Road in Brookhaven. Later his half-brother Charles was born. At 13 years old, Ed started working on cars and then started his own auto repair business specializing in electrical repairs. He repaired fire engines and police cars for 18 municipalities in Delaware County and was termed by many as The Best in the County.
Ed married Frances E. Wilhelm and they moved to Grandview Avenue. They had 2 children, sons Thomas Edward Eaton (1933-2016) and Lee Wilhelm Eaton (b. 1940).
In the 1960s, Ed moved his auto repair shop, Ed Eaton Battery & Ignition from 805 Sproul St. in Chester to Edgmont & Wellington Avenues in Brookhaven until he sold it in the mid-1990s.
Hardworking
Ed followed his FORMULA FOR VOLUME that made him successful.
Pictures originally published in the Delaware County Daily Times.
Honest
Civic-Minded
Brookhaven Fire Chief 1939-1945
Grand Marshal Brookhaven’s 1976 Bicentennial Parade
1st Burgess (Mayor) 1946 – 1954
Edgmont Park Renamed to Ed Eaton Park
In 1979, after renovating Edgmont Park, the Parks & Recreation Committee thought a new name was in order, so they named the park after the hard-working, honest, civic-minded Thomas ‘Ed’ Eaton. He was at that time, the oldest living resident in Brookhaven.
For more information, see Ed Eaton Park in the Parks section.