Flora Eaton

Flora, Lady Eaton (born Sarah Evelyn Florence McCrea; 26 November 1879 – 9 July 1970) was a Canadian socialite, philanthropist, and nurse. As the wife of Sir John Craig Eaton, who inherited the Eaton's department store business, she was a member and later matriarch of the prominent Eaton family.

Early life and family She was born in 1879 in the village of Omemee, Ontario, a small community in Victoria County (today part of the City of Kawartha Lakes), approximately west of Peterborough. She was the youngest of eight children born to Irish Protestant immigrants – John McCrea, a cabinetmaker, and Jane McNeely.

She moved to Toronto and became a nurse, first at Toronto General Hospital then at Rotherham House, a private hospital on Sherbourne Street. While working at Rotherham House, she met John Craig Eaton, a patient who was a younger son of Eaton's department store founder Timothy Eaton. The two were married in Omemee on 8 May 1901. In the 1940s and 1950s, a false rumour persisted that Lady Eaton was the inventor of red velvet cake, which was sold in the store's bakery. At the height of the store's success, Lady Eaton was popularly known as "Mrs. Canada".

Interested in the occult, Lady Eaton had a séance room built in the turret of Eaton Hall. The ceiling of this circular room is painted with the zodiac.

As her health failed, Lady Eaton moved from Eaton Hall to her secondary residence on Old Forest Hill Road in Toronto's Forest Hill neighbourhood. She died at home on 9 July 1970, at the age of 90. Her funeral was held on July 15 at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church. She was interred in the Eaton Mausoleum at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Legacy

Lady Eaton's legacy is still felt to this day, particularly in her hometown of Omemee and surrounding area. Lady Eaton Elementary School in the village and Lady Eaton College at Trent University in nearby Peterborough are named in her honour. The Eatons donated Coronation Hall, Omemee's municipal building, in 1911, and a manse and pipe organ to Trinity United Church. The family proposed that the village change its name to Eatonville, but the offer was refused.

The current campus of Rosseau Lake College sits upon lands formerly owned by the Eatons. While many buildings on campus fell victim to fire, several original structures still remain.

In 1994, Royal Doulton produced a figurine in Lady Eaton's image to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Eaton's. Limited to a production of 2,500, each figurine was marked with its production sequence.

The oldest endowed chair at the University of Toronto and first full-time professorship of medicine in the British Empire, the Sir John and Lady Eaton Professor and Chair of Medicine, is named after her and her husband. It was established in 1919 and endowed by their $500,000 donation.