Former North Canton Hoover AD, Federal League commissioner Joe Eaton dies at 76
Former Hoover High School athletic director and Federal League commissioner Joe Eaton passed away overnight Friday after a battle with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), his wife Carole confirmed to the Canton Repository.
He was 76.
Eaton was diagnosed with IPF in December of 2022. The chronic, progressive lung disease damages and scars the lung tissue, making breathing increasingly difficult. There is no known cause or cure for IPF.
The Federal League recently established the Joe Eaton Federal League Courageous Student-Athlete of the Year to honor Eaton for his contributions to the league and for his positivity in the face of his condition. The award will be given out later this academic year for the first time and annually going forward.
Eaton was Hoover's athletic director from 1986-2003. He then became Federal League commissioner after Sam DiBlasi died unexpectedly in 2003. Eaton was the commissioner until 2019, when former Jackson athletic director Terry Peterson succeeded him.
"We really felt during his 16 years he brought us to another level," Peterson said about Eaton in September.
DiBlasi, Eaton and Peterson are the only three commissioners in the league's 60-year history.
A native of Catlettsburg, Kentucky, Eaton landed in Northeast Ohio because of a Kent State University basketball scholarship. As a junior, he transferred to then-Walsh College, where he met Carole. They married the summer before their senior year and celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary earlier this year.
Eaton was a teacher and coach for many years before becoming an athletic director. He guided the 1974-75 St. Thomas Aquinas boys basketball team to the state semifinals.
The Eatons moved to Raleigh, North Carolina full-time in 2020 in large part to be closer to their two children and five grandchildren. Their daughter, Dana, and son, Jeff, were with their father when he passed away.
"Having five grandchildren, I get to hug them every weekend," Joe Eaton said in September. "They're all into sports and cheerleading. It was a good move for us. I don't know how much longer I have, but every minute that I'm here, I'll definitely make the best of it."
A celebration of life for Eaton will be held in Raleigh in January and in Canton in May.
Contributions are being accepted for the Joe Eaton Federal League Courageous Student-Athlete of the Year award as a way to honor Joe's legacy. Donations should be made payable to Lake Local Schools and mailed to 436 King Church Ave. SW, Uniontown, OH 44685. Please write Joe Eaton in the memo line.
Reach Josh at josh.weir@cantonrep.com
On X: @jweirREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Obituary: Former Hoover AD, Federal League commissioner Joe Eaton dies
