She was born in 1879 in the village of Omemee, Ontario, a small community in Victoria County (today part of the City of Kawartha Lakes), approximately 23 km (14 mi) west of Peterborough.

Named Ardwold, the Gaelic word for "high, green hill", the house was designed by Frank Wickson and was one of the most lavish ever constructed in Toronto.

She was active in charity work during the war, hosting fundraisers at Ardwold and serving as patroness of the 109th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force based at Lindsay, Ontario, near her hometown.

In 1937, she attended the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and she presented her daughters Florence and Evlyn at court.

These changes were met with objection by the minister and other congregants, who argued that this pomp was not part of the United Church of Canada, with its roots in Methodism.

In 1938, she funded a renovation of the chancel in memory of her late husband, which made the floorplan closer to an Anglican church than that of a Methodist one.

After the war, the house became a convalescent home for the Royal Canadian Navy for a time before becoming Lady Eaton's private residence again.

[2] In 1950, in recognition of her charity work, Lady Eaton was made a Dame of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.

[3] In the 1940s and 1950s, a false rumour persisted that Lady Eaton was the inventor of red velvet cake which was sold in the store's bakery.

The Eatons donated Coronation Hall, Omemee's municipal building, in 1911, and a manse and pipe organ to Trinity United Church.