EDMUND MILTON BEVINGTON

"As an executive with Westinghouse, Trane and Servidyne, Inc. -- an energy engineering company he founded -- Milt helped introduce strategies and maintenance management systems  for building efficiency and performance.  "He helped Trane take a visionary approach to conservation of energy and development of their products long before anyone else," said Howell Adams, Jr. of Atlanta, a retired Trane executive who called Milt a mentor.

"Milt was a leader in the field, telling them it was the right thing to do. He saw the need for energy conservation."

Four months ago, Milt was diagnosed with lymphoma. He died on May 20 from complications of pneumonia at Hospice Atlanta.  He was 81.  A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. June 4 at Cathedral of Christ the King.

At 20, the Nashville native graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of  Technology with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering. He earn an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1951. In later years, he  worked in Westinghouse's air-conditioning sales division in Staunton, Va., where he met Howell Adams. Westinghouse eventually transferred Milt to Atlanta, where his  impact in the sales market caught the attention of  Trane.

In 1959, he became that company's Georgia agent. A year later, Milt was tapped to start the company's consumer products division. Howell succeeded him as Trane's state agent.

"By that time, he had a reputation as a visionary with wonderful leadership qualities," Howell  said. "I worked under his tutelage for 10 years, and it was the epitome of total trust in one another. To have that for 53 years was incredible."

In 1973,  Milt left Trane and launched Servidyne. "He saw an opportunity for a good business," said Paula Lawton Bevington, his wife of 45 years. She said the modern sustainable movement sometimes overlooks the business benefits of energy efficiency, which Bevington's company sought to promote through its services.

In early 2000, the company received two Energy Star awards from the Environmental Protection Agency. It eventually was sold to Abrams Industries, which adopted the Servidyne name as its own.

Milt then worked as a private energy consultant. Two years ago, he and his wife formed Bevington Advisors, a philanthropic consultancy.

In the community, he served as president of the Boy Scouts' Atlanta Area Council, and twice was president of the Georgia Conservancy. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta and sat  on corporate boards. He was president of the MIT Alumni Association.

His first wife, Betsy Rickey was killed in an airplane accident. Survivors other than his wife include six sons, Milton Bevington Jr. of  Cambridge, Mass.; Rickey Bevington of  Sharpsburg; George Bevington of Atlanta; Charles Bevington of Medford, Mass.; Christian Bevington of  Los Angeles; and Justin Bevington of  College Park; a daughter, Mary-Laurence Bevingtonof  Boulder, Colo.; a brother, the Rev. William Stock Bevington of  Nashville; 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Milt was a member of our club since 1978.  His wife, Paula, is a past present and current member of our club.  The two are pictured above at a recent meeting when Paula received the Club's Service Above Self Award.