Gary B. Eaton

Gary B. Eaton passed away peacefully at Comanche County Hospital, surrounded with love, on October 24, 2026, at the age of 81.

Gary was born on December 27, 1944, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to Claire Steele and William Henry Eaton. He was raised by his mother and stepfather, Clarence Putney, in Lawton, Oklahoma. His childhood home included: stepbrothers Gene Putney and Leon Putney (both of Lawton, OK); stepsisters Joella Putney Black (Lawton, OK) and Kay Putney Pierson (California); half-sister, Betty Sue Peters (York, PA). Gary later located and formed loving relationships with his half-siblings Billy Eaton (Chattanooga, TN), Houston Eaton (Powder Springs, GA), and Mary Margaret Shriver (Pine Bluff, AR).

He married Marilyn Atteberry on April 14, 1963, at Antioch Church in Buttermilk, Kansas. Together they had three daughters: Cindy (Steve) Lohrding (Cherokee, OK), Chris (LaVern) Durst (Independence, MO), and Teresa (David) Commerford (Oxford, KS). They share eight grandchildren: Keenan (Debra) Lohrding, Trevor Lohrding, Brendan Lohrding, TC Edwards, Danae (Ben) Baker, Alyssa (Travis Merritts) Edwards, Emery Commerford, and Connor Commerford. They also share ten great-grandchildren: Briggs, Brett, Bexley, Ellie, Barrett, Sutton, Hudson, Lainey, Keagan, and Tinley.

He is survived by his wife, daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, as well as siblings Leon, Houston, and Kay.

Gary attended Lawton schools and joined the Air Force at age seventeen. He was stationed at Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka. He met Marilyn on a blind date arranged by mutual friends, and they married a month later. After leaving the Air Force, Gary worked on the family farm for his father- and mother-in-law (Nig & Mildred Atteberry) in Coldwater. Mildred helped Gary to attain his GED so that he could join the Kansas Highway Patrol, where he served from 1968 to 1973 in Garnett and Ulysses. The family settled in Coldwater, where they remained until 1989 when work obligations with Panhandle Eastern Pipeline took Gary & Marilyn to the Louisburg area. The couple returned to Coldwater after retirement, as the community always felt like home.

Gary enjoyed the outdoors, spending many early mornings hunting quail and pheasants or fishing at Lake Coldwater. He was an avid sports fan and became known in the area for shooting the “Big Red Guns” at Coldwater High School football games. He loved all kinds of car racing, but especially NASCAR. He loved clowning around when water skiing, which led to a few big wipeouts and injuries – this never slowed him down.

Services will be held at Coldwater United Methodist Church on Saturday, November 14, 2026, at 2:00PM. There will be no viewing as cremation has taken place. Interment of ashes will take place at Crown Hill Cemetery after the service. The family will receive visitors before the service, beginning at 11:00AM in the church basement fellowship hall.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Comanche County Hospital or Pioneer Lodge Nursing Home in care of Hatfield-Prusa Funeral Home, P.O. Box 417, Coldwater, KS 67209.