Terry Eaton

Terry Eaton, 78; of New AlbanyA memorial service for Terry Eaton, 78, of New Albany, an actress, author and teacher, will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 12, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, New Albany. There will be a reception celebrating her life in St. Paul’s Parish House immediately following the service. She died Sunday, March 16, 2008, at Clark Memorial Hospital.She was born in Fontainebleu, France in 1929, and made her acting debut at age three with Le Theatre du Petit Monde, one of only nine candidates chosen from France that year. She and her mother, author Evelyn Eaton, left France for England and then for her mother’s native Canada before World War II, and she grew up in Nova Scotia. She attended Briarcliff Junior College and worked as an actress in summer stock after graduation. She and her mother became American citizens in 1945.She married Richard Brengle in 1949. They spent 12 years in Lynchburg, Va., where Terry won several awards for her acting. After eight years in other Midwestern cities, the family moved to New Albany in 1970. The Brengles divorced in 1976 and Terry later moved to California, where she continued her acting career with great success in San Diego and also appeared on Broadway in a production of Holy Ghosts.She was the author of “Joy Before Night: The Last Years of Evelyn Eaton,” and continued her mother’s spiritual teachings after her mother passed away. Terry was a frequent presenter at the Springbank Retreat in Kingstree, S.C., where her insights into spiritual matters drew enthusiastic audiences.She returned to New Albany in 1997 to be closer to her grandchildren, and led a happy and active life there until shortly before her death.Survivors include her daughter, Marte Brengle; sons, John, David and Richard Brengle Jr.,; 10 grandchildren; and beloved companion, Irvin Brewer, New Albany. Kraft Funeral Service is in charge of arrangements.The family requests that expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions in her memory St. Paul’s Capital Fund, 1015 E. Main Street, New Albany, IN 47150.