William Henry Eaton

Bill Eaton, 78, of Wilmington, Del. and Red Bank, N.J., died on Sept. 16, 2026, in Wilmington Hospital.

Bill was born on Aug. 16, 1948, in Boston, Mass., the son of Henry and Bessie Eaton. He spent his childhood in the yards and woodlands of Needham, Mass., and along the Charles River.

After graduating from Needham High School, Bill went to Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and Oxford University in Oxford, England, where he studied history, a pursuit he enjoyed as an avid reader and traveler for the rest of his life. He moved to Jersey City in 1970 and earned a law degree from New York University School of Law in 1973. While attending law school, Bill met and in 1975 married Rita Meehan, a neighbor in his apartment building.

Bill began his legal career as an associate at the Brach Eichler law firm, where he worked closely with his early mentor, Bill Brach. He later started a private practice in Jersey City with colleagues, Korona, Beides, Mark and Santiago, which served clients primarily in Essex and Hudson counties. He also served as city attorney for East Orange and later as counsel for the East Orange Water Commission. He dedicated most of his professional life to promoting civil rights and affordable housing. Bill enjoyed his active memberships and friendships in organizations pursuing these same goals including NJ Affordable Housing Management Association, the International Municipal Lawyers Association, the World Jurist Association and civic associations like the NJ League of Municipalities and the US Navy League.

Bill had a love for travel inspired by childhood vacations with his family to Revolutionary and Civil War battlefields and other historic sites. His enthusiasm for exploration, sharp mind, and love of history led him, his wife Rita, and many family members and friends on adventures to every continent. His gregarious personality and storytelling skills helped him make friends wherever he went. For several decades he enjoyed cycling, often taking his sons on long bike trips during their youth and participating in New York's annual five-borough bike ride.

Bill was especially proud of his parents’ military service during World War II. His mother was an Army nurse in Europe and his father served with the Flying Tigers in China. He and family members attended multiple Flying Tiger reunion ceremonies in China. He took pride in seeing both of his sons graduate from service academies and serve honorably, Charles in the US Navy and Geoffrey in the US Air Force.

Bill spent much of his adult life in East Orange and Atlantic Highlands, N.J. He loved animals, especially nurturing rescued cats and dogs that he enjoyed taking on neighborhood walks.

Bill is survived by his wife Rita, his son Charles and wife Marlieke, his son Geoffrey, and his wife's daughter Anne and husband Dusan Jovanovic; four grandchildren, Fleur and Charlotte Eaton and Mica and Nesa Jovanovic; his brother Jack and his wife Kathleen Eaton and brother David and wife Suzanne Eaton.

For those who wish, in lieu of flowers, his family suggests donations in his memory to Bill's favorite charity:

St. Benedict's Preparatory School, 520 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Newark, NJ 07102