John Eaton has passed away

[jeaton01]

Hello this is June Marshall, John Eaton's daughter. I wanted to let you all know that he passed away peacefully yesterday after a valiant fight against cancer. He was surrounded with love by his family and grandchildren who adored him. He was our rock, and he was one of a kind. He expressed that he wanted to send you all a heartfelt goodbye message letting you know how much your friendship and community has meant to him over many years. His illness took over before he had the chance to write to you. So I wanted to just take the opportunity to tell you how much you all meant to him. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you would like to share stories and know about upcoming services which we hope to also share on zoom for his many friends me made around the world who shared his lifelong passion of RC and scale modeling.

June Marshall
[email protected]

 

[iambrb]

Godspeed to you Sir.

To Miss Eaton, my heartfelt condolences. He will be missed, mostly for his support and helpful comments on work performed here.

Bruce Brannon

 

[moon puppy]

June, please know how much John meant to us all here at Modelers Alliance. I think we all had met John virtually many years ago over the multiple communities we all were and are members of. He was one of our guiding spirits in our modeling world and was always generous dipping into his well of knowledge.

He will be sorely missed by all.

Please accept our condolences

 

[Sharkmouth]

Another light ascending into the heavens. June, my condolences to you and all those survived by John's passing. It feels sudden and obviously he didn't want us to know his suffering, indicative of a thoughtful soul. He will be missed!

 

[Piet]

I would like to offer my sympathy to you and your family at this incredibly difficult time.

 

[Rhino]

Hey, Mrs. Marshall,
Your ol' Dad was one of the pillars of our merry band of model miscreants. The last Google Meet he attended, he confessed a bit about his affliction, and was his usual cheerful self afterwards. I appreciated his sense of fun, and he and I had many exchanges about his new garage, and possible, sometimes humorous, uses thereof. Evidence of his model builds demonstrate that he was a skilled, thorough, meticulous sort of man with a touch of the artist to him as well. I imagine his attention to detail must have shown in every facet of his life.

As a group here at Modeler's Alliance, we come to know one another by our hobby. Not a whole lot is said about jobs, family, illnesses, or day-to-day life. I can't say I knew John well. He was always nice to me. We swapped flying and airplane stories every now and again.

This right here Life is a finite affair. The end of this affair is assured for everyone. One of the things we leave behind is our story. I'm willing to bet your dad's story is a genuine rootin'-tootin' romper-stomper! It can be said that if there are regrets at the end of a man's life, it must be because he didn't truly Live. I cannot imagine this being the case for John Eaton.

I won't try to blow sunshine up your backside and tell you everything will be all right. It won't. Everything will be different since your Daddy died. Be nice to you, and your people. We will send prayers and what comfort we may from such a distance. John will be missed and he will not be forgotten by his model friends.

Grieve for your daddy's passing, but then two, celebrate his story and his life. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and your People during this time of anguish. May the Lord's love bless you and keep you.
So long, old friend. I'll see you on the other side.

I'll hop down from my "pulpit" now.

 

[RichB]

I am deeply sorry for the loss of your father. He will not be forgotten.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Very sorry for your loss June. John will be missed. We are loosing too many of the great people these days.
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. We always enjoyed John's posts, stories, and descriptions of how he chose to do things. When he joined in on our Zoom meetings, he was always well spoken and enjoyable to visit with.

 

[Rhino]

I was just surfing around John's website.

Eaton's Aviation History and Modeling Page

At the end of the day, I'm just another sentimental, old, marshmallow it seems.

 

[Sharkmouth]

June, do you plan to keep John's webpage up?

 

[jeaton01]

June, do you plan to keep John's webpage up?

Yes I just renewed the hosting through 2028. We are also going to take our time this year inventorying his 7000+ un-built kits, extensive aviation library, and all the Golden Era Model plans he designed. I look forward to connecting with his friends on ideas how to make it available/accessible.

 

[Rhino]

A few of John's friends are similarly afflicted with large model collections. A couple operate websites for the sale of such things.
Please, feel free to ask for any help we can provide. There's no such thing as a dumb question.

How about just a bit of model input?
It is common for model resellers to approach the families of modelers that have "Gone West". In many cases they will offer from $5.00 to $10.00 a kit, with the added convenience of taking the whole collection off your hands. These Folk aren't really vultures, but they hope to make a profit. In some cases a sizeable profit.

Often times, model kits have much more value than this. This is especially true of sealed (still wrapped in the unbroken factory plastic) kits.
Modern, sealed, 1/48 scale airplane models and 1/35 scale tank models are among the most appealing to model makers, it seems to me.
(I make and market scale model ship kits. Ship modelers are not nearly as numerous as airplane and armor model builders.)
Plastic model kits resist temperature changes fairly well. Resin kits do not react well to extremes of hot and cold.

Models that have been opened and "loved up" can be a crap-shoot as far as a reseller is concerned.
These need to be sorted and inspected to make sure they are complete. Decals usable, Clear parts intact, and so on, see? This process is time intensive and painstaking when done properly.

7,000+ of your Dad's kits sound like a herculean labor of love to find good homes for. To say nothing of the reference books and the R/C plans.
Holly Molly! The beauty of model kits is that they are patient. They don't wander off by themselves. They don't eat anything and almost never poop on the rug. There's no rush.

 

[jknaus]

I am so very sorry to hear this news. John is the second modeling friend to pass this month. RIP John and my condolences to the family. Know he will be missed.
James

 

[centaur567]

He will be greatly missed and is now at the hobby shop in the sky. Gary S.

 

[JSteinman]

I really didn’t know John, as I really am somewhat anti-social, but I am sad to hear of his loss, and I hope your memories serve you well in the future.