VOLUME 13, NO. 2     NOVEMBER 2000

Milton W. Garland Dies

Milton W. Garland '20, a pioneer in the refrigeration industry who was lauded in 1998 as the nation's oldest worker, died July 19, 2000.

His first wife, the former Florence Whisler, predeceased him. He leaves his wife, Alice (McIntire), a son, a daughter, six grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson.

Garland, known as "Mr. Refrigeration" in engineering circles, joined Frick Co. of Waynesboro, Pa., after graduation. Although he officially retired in 1967, he continued as a consultant to the company (he went to his office each day) until he suffered a heart attack in May 2000 and moved to a nursing home. He held patents on 41 refrigeration devices and processes and was a life member and a fellow of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), which honored him as one of three centenarians in 1995.

Garland had a hand in many pivotal developments of the 20th century, from beverage production before and after Prohibition, to construction of the Hoover Dam, dry-ice food preservation for World War II troops, and cooling technology for modern hockey rinks. He received an honorary doctor of engineering degree from WPI in 1995. Frick Co. established the M.W. Garland Scholarships in 1972 for children of employees, and Garland later endowed the Milton W. Garland Scholarship Fund at WPI. A life member of the President's Advisory Council and a Presidential Founder, he belonged to the Alden Fellows, the Alden Society, Skull and Theta Chi.