Brooks Patterson
Community Leadership Award
2004 Community Leadership Awards
Lois Bobseine Eaton
The Cattaraugus County Planning Board’s theme for this award is “People
Are Our Greatest Resource”. In this spirit, we present the Brooks
Patterson Community Leadership Award for the Year 2004 in memory of:
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Lois Bobseine Eaton 1918 – 2004 For outstanding leadership in community planning and development and for the creation in 1961 of the County Planning Board and Planning Department. |
Founder, Member and Chair of the County Planning Board – Mrs.
Eaton served on the Cattaraugus County Board of Supervisors from January
1960 to December 1967 as the first elected female Supervisor in
Cattaraugus County for the Town of Otto, during which time she led the
fight to create professional planning services within county government.
As Chairman of the original Planning Committee of the Cattaraugus County
Board of Supervisors, she sponsored the resolution that created the
Cattaraugus County Planning Board and the County’s Planning Department
in 1961.
Mrs. Eaton served on the Cattaraugus County Planning Board from January
10, 1968 to July 31, 1993 and was Chairman from February 1976 to
December 1982. As Chair, she defended the quality of life for residents
of Cattaraugus County, and set an example for improving the quality of
life and the future for Cattaraugus County and its people.
Community Volunteer – Mrs. Eaton was a founding member and
president of the Cattaraugus County Women’s Republican Club and actively
served her community as a fund drives volunteer for the American Cancer
Society, the American Red Cross, and the March of Dimes, and was
chairman of the Tri-County Hospital Auxiliary for the Town of Otto, and
a member of the Home Bureau. She was a former president of the Parent
Teacher Association, and American Field Service coordinator at
Cattaraugus Central School, and youth activities advocate.
Education/Employment - Mrs. Eaton was a graduate of Bryant and
Stratton Business Institute in Buffalo, and was employed by the Bank of
Cattaraugus and the ASCS offices of Cooperative Extension in
Ellicottville.
Family - Mrs. Eaton is survived by three daughters: Gale L.
Bobseine of Ellicottville, Greta Bobseine of Chautauqua, and Gwen L.
Colton of Great Valley; a son, Gary L. Bobseine of Cattaraugus; nine
grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; one brother, Bud Besecker of
Virginia; and two sisters, Dorothy Nelson of California, and Winifred
Mabry of Indiana.
In Memory - The County Planning Board honors Lois Bobseine Eaton,
who passed away on January 24, 2004 at the age of 85, as the “Founder
of Planning in Cattaraugus County” and for her valuable
contributions as a member and Chairman of the County Planning Board with
this Brooks Patterson Community Leadership Award.
(l-r) Paul Bishop, Chairman of the Cattaraugus County Planning Board, Gale Bobsiene, Gretta Bobsiene and Gary Bobsiene, 2004 recipient of the Brooks Patterson Community Leadership Award. (Photo Credit: Jack Berger)