Jonathan Vincent Eaton, age 64, passed away on Thursday, October 15, 2026, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was born on January 24, 1962, in Phoenix, Arizona. A man of many interests and talents, Jonathan was an accomplished photographer who spent his high school years processing film in the darkroom set up in his bathroom. Over the summers, he would work in his aunt’s restaurant in Jerome, Arizona, learning from her a love of both cooking and sharing meals with friends and family. He also hiked the Grand Canyon with his father several times.
Jonathan moved to Denver, Colorado, studying video production in college, leaving school when his internship at United Airlines turned into a full-time job, which he enjoyed immensely (once climbing out the cockpit window of a 747 to film a training video… only to realize that he wasn’t dressed like a pilot, so they couldn’t use it). He eventually returned to Phoenix, teaching photography at Al Collins College, until he discovered the exciting world of stagecraft. Jonathan worked as a stagehand in Phoenix for many years, including in stage management for The Phoenix Symphony, as well as on crews for big arena shows. Later in life he enjoyed asking “did I ever tell you about the time…” and sharing stories about meeting Hilary Hahn very early in her career; Keith Lockhart taking the crew out for beers after his final performance of the week (an event his wife was later able to fact-check with the artist in question, who corroborated the story); James DePreist and Itzhak Perlman clowning around backstage; and being completely charmed by Bernadette Peters. He also loved working with all the orchestra musicians. Perhaps his favorite anecdote was lighting David Bowie’s cigarette backstage before an arena show.
Blessed with a wonderful speaking voice, he read the live “Voice of God” announcements before Phoenix Symphony concerts for many years, and worked at KBAQ, the classical radio station.
It was also thanks to The Phoenix Symphony that Jonathan met Christina Rossetti. They married in 2007 and moved to Cincinnati in 2008, where Jonathan became the Greaves Hall Coordinator in the Music Department at Northern Kentucky University School of the Arts, bringing together his passions for stagecraft, music, and teaching. He retired from NKU in 2021, following his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Jonathan collaborated with a friend to make fine art kaleidoscopes, which he also collected. His other interests included making flaming desserts and ice cream, fly fishing, “visually interesting” films, travel, and jazz LPs. His passion for photography never waned. He was thoughtful, generous, and funny.
Jonathan is survived by his wife, Christina; their cat, Chloetaes; his sister Joanne (Tom) Quebedeaux; nephew Patrick (Nicole) Morris; and cousin Jan MacCurdy. He was preceded in death by his mother, Ann Eaton; his father, Robert Eaton, and stepmother, Estelle; his aunt, Patricia Mathews; and many pampered and beloved cats, most especially Roger and Desdemona.
A celebration of life is being planned for Jonathan and will take place early next year. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Adult Day program of the Jewish Family Service, where Jonathan spent many happy days in his final year (https://www.jfscinti.org/give/), or to NKU SOTA Music Department (https://donate.nku.edu/campaigns/88030/donations/).
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