Richard B. Eaton
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| Richard Behrens Eaton | |
 "Date Unknown" | |
| Born: | December 22, 1914 |
|---|---|
| Died: | July 29, 2003 |
Contents |
Early Life
Richard Behrens Eaton was born December 22, 1914 in Albany, Oregon to Walter Eaton and Edna Behrens Eaton. Walter Eaton served in the Chemical Warfare Service during World War I and died in the service in 1918. The widowed Edna Behrens Eaton and young Richard moved to Redding that year, to the family home at 1520 West Street. In March of 1927, Eaton was the first young man in Shasta County to enroll in the Boy Scouts of America.
Schooling
Eaton was an extremely bright young man. He skipped kindergarten, second grade, and was in a special program that collapsed the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades into a two-year program. Eaton graduated from Redding Elementary School in 1926 at the age of 11 [1]. He graduated from Shasta High School in 1930.
Following high school, he attended Stanford University as a chemical engineering major. He ended up switching to law and graduated in 1934. He acquired his law degree four years later from Stanford Law School.[2]
Military Service
As an undergraduate at Stanford, Eaton participated in the ROTC program, attaining the rank of first lieutenant. As he was initially an engineering student at the time of his enrollment, he was part of the Ordinance program. In 1940, Eaton volunteered and began his service in the U.S. Army as head of the legal section of the Ordinance District in San Francisco. He continued in that capacity from the fall of 1940 to the summer of 1942. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Eaton felt his place was overseas, so he requested an overseas assignment. Eaton was initially assigned to East Africa, where his initial duty was that of paymaster. He soon became Commanding Officer of the Arsenal.
By the conclusion of WWII, Eaton held the rank of Major.
Post War
Eaton resumed his private practice in 1946.
The Superior Court
In 1951, Governor Earl Warren appointed Eaton to the Superior Court, a position he held for 25 years.
Retirement
Eaton retired from the Supreme Court in 1976. He remained extremely active in the community, and was involved with many organization such as the Shasta Historical Society, the Episcopalian Church, the Boy Scouts of America, and others.
Richard B. Eaton passed away at his family home on July 29, 2003. He left an estate of over $5 million dollars, which is being used to turn his house into a museum.
References
- ↑ http://www.cagenweb.com/shasta/bios/eatonrichard.html
- ↑ Weissberg, Al. 1999. "A Pair of Double Portraits." Covered Wagon, pg. 93-103
External Links
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