Esther Eaton Endowed Scholarship

Esther Martha Carlstrom Eaton was born north of Custer, Montana, in a small homesteader’s shack. Her father, Carl Herman Carlstrom, had emigrated from Sweden at the age of 16 with minimal formal schooling, but he was a strong proponent of education. Her mother, Lois Adele White Carlstrom, did not finish elementary school since her parents had moved to rural Montana from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when she was 13, and they did not have easy access to school. Lois always wanted to be a chemist. Esther Eaton completed two years at Montana State College (now Montana State University) studying art with the goal of finishing in architecture, but married Frank Cecil Eaton in 1941 and did not finish her college degree. Esther encourage all 10 of her children to get an education. It was expected that they would go to Bozeman since their parents did. Indeed, they all attended MSU with nine graduating and six acquiring graduate degrees. Esther told her daughters they must get their education and live their own lives, even when they wanted to stay home and care for her when her own health was failing. She was adamant that they have a means to care for themselves. In 2015, Charlotta “Lottie” Eaton and her husband, Curt Starr, established the Esther Eaton Scholarship Endowment at MSU Billings in memory of Lottie’s mother, Esther. Lottie and Curt both value the importance of higher education, as did Esther. It is their hope the scholarship endowment will provide educational access to MSU Billings students in all financial situations and circumstances. The first scholarship will be awarded in academic year 2016-2017.