Eve Keaton

 

\"The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy, but I have come that you may have life and have it to the fullest\"(John 10: 10.) 

Eve Cruz Keaton, 85, of Amherst County, entered peacefully into her heavenly home on June 16th, 2013.  Eve was born March 1st, 1928 to Severino Cruz and Dionecia Aquino in Cagayan Province, Philippines. The Cruz\"™s were a well-respected, Catholic family, who owned lots of property. During WWII, as the Japanese occupied their homeland, the Cruz escaped into the mountains, where they endured unimaginable hardships. While fleeing in the wilderness, Eve\"™s faith took root as the family prayed to God continually, and Mom Dionecia covered her family with the Scriptures she had  memorized. When at 14, Eve caught malaria, and was at death\"™s door, her parents implored her not to give up. Eve chose to live, and the life she\"™s lived reflects the deep faith in God imparted by her parents. 

Taking after her mother, Eve learned to be a wise, loving woman, devoted to the Lord Jesus. She would rise early in the morning to pray. Blessed by much time spent in the presence of the Lord Jesus, Eve became a counselor to her family as well as those who became family through her counseling. Even though she was one of the youngest, Eve emerged as her family\"™s Matriarch, providing shelter for many and continually guiding them during the course of their lives.

Although her family had plenty, Eve did not cling to material possessions. She was generous and kind; no family member was ever turned away empty handed. She always helped people \"" all knew where they could go to get help or support. She never turned anyone away, and was loved dearly. And despite having a good memory, Eve could not hold a grudge because she had such a capacity for forgiveness and kindness. What undergirded her entire being was a deep faith in the Lord Jesus inherited from her parents and made her own. 

From her beloved mother, Eve also received many of the skills, gifts and talents through which she lived her life: her bravery, her musical talent, her cooking abilities, her sewing, dancing and gardening virtuoso, and ministering to people. Eve was fearless when required to be so; yet if the situation called for it, she would humbly lay down her rights, denying herself in order to make peace and protect others – especially those she dearly loved.

Eve was a self-taught musician, who played the accordion and sang. Her musicality inspired her son, Frank, to play the guitar, teaching him his first guitar chords. And in the 1950\"™s she almost had a recording contract.

Being an excellent dancer, Eve participated in exhibition ballroom dancing in her hometown during the war. She also served as volunteer auxiliary nurse, treating and helping many wounded soldiers to heal. After the war, and the death of her father, Eve worked to support and care for her widowed mother.

In the 1950\"™s Eve met the love of her life and soul mate, James Keaton. He was a loving, peace-making man, who was a hard working and generous provider, with deep faith in the Lord Jesus.

After many years in the Phillipines, they lived briefly in Guam, and finally in 1976 moved to the U.S.  Settling in Hampton, VA, James continued as sole provider for the family. Later, as a widow, Eve relocated to Amherst, Virginia, where she lived with her devoted daughter Janice, and supportive son-in-law, Charles Norman. It was here, surrounded by her loving family, that Eve went home to live on with Lord Jesus on June 16th, 2013.

She is predeceased by her husband, James, her son, \"Pichon,\" her daughter, Jane and various brothers and sisters. She is survived by her children, Frank, Janice, Jose, Jessie, Tomas and Eva; and sisters, Lucy Myers and Mary Ryan; and beloved grandchildren, Leslie, Jamie, Kimberly, Arlene, Peter, Holly, Hope, Brandon, Charles, Franklin, Nathan, Nicole and various other grand-children in the Phillipines, great-grands and various nieces and nephews.



Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Lynchburg, is assisting the family (434) 237-9424.