BEVINGTON (Lawton), Paula
Paula Lawton Bevington passed away at home in her sleep on August 4, 2024. The eldest child of Mary Patricia Walsh Lawton and G. Albert Lawton, Paula was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 25, 1937. At age 20, she graduated magna cum laude from St. Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana. In 1961, she earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, followed by graduate work at Middlebury College and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Paula became the first woman associate hired by Sutherland Asbill & Brennan in Atlanta, during an era in which many law firms did not hire women. In 1963, she went to work for the Peace Corps in Washington, DC, and then researched international law on a Fulbright scholarship at Central University of Venezuela in Caracas. From Venezuela, she traveled throughout South America, and then around the world.
Paula returned to Atlanta, where friends, Donna and Mike Egan, initiated a blind date between Paula and E. Milton Bevington. As fate would have it, the two married in 1965. She welcomed his three sons: Milton, Jr., Rickey (Robin Hall), and Peter, who had lost their mother, Betsy Rickey, in 1962, in the Air France crash at Orly Field (Paris), a tragedy which inspired the creation of the Woodruff Arts Center. Paula and Milton were blessed with four more sons and a daughter: George, Mary, Christian (Tracy Kovacs), Charles (Miranda Tumlin), and Justin (Tracy Hollink). Milton founded Servidyne Incorporated in 1974, an energy engineering company, pioneering conservation strategies before environmental stewardship had become a global priority. Paula joined Milton at Servidyne from 1980 to 2002. After Servidyne, she became the VP of Development for SciTrek, and continued fundraising at Marcus Institute, now Marcus Autism Center. In 2008, she and Milton formed Bevington Advisors, a philanthropic consultancy.
In her free time, Paula was an enthusiastic alumna of Lauralton Hall (Connecticut), St Mary's, and Yale, and her volunteer service spanned from Flannery O'Connor's Andalusia Foundation to papers on the impact of Rev. Henry Hugh Proctor's music concerts on race relations in Atlanta. She has been in leadership roles with the Junior League of Atlanta, the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, the Board of Councilors at The Carter Center, the American Red Cross-Atlanta, the Village of St. Joseph, the Georgia Council for International Visitors, the National Conference of Christians and Jews, UNICEF-Atlanta, African American Panoramic Experience (APEX), Rialto Center for the Performing Arts, Theatre Gael, Girls Incorporated, Rollins School of Public Health (Emory) Dean's Council, Friends of Spelman College, the Atlanta Music Festival, and more.
Paula chaired the statewide Georgia Human Relations Commission and was the first woman president of the Rotary Club of Atlanta. She also served as president of the Justice Center of Atlanta. She was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, the Society of International Business Fellows, the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers, the State Bar of Georgia, Leadership Atlanta Alumni, and a book club launched in the '70s, which continues today. Over the years, she received numerous awards, including an honorary Doctorate from LaGrange College. It is only fitting that the Atlanta Rotary Club's Pioneer Award was named for Paula and that she had the opportunity to present the inaugural award at a Rotary meeting this past June.
Writer, activist, friend, and beloved mentor, Paula contributed with purpose and generosity, prioritizing her faith and family. In a gracious way, she "did not go gently into that good night." Paula is survived by her sister, Dr. Elena Lawton de Torruella; and was predeceased by her husband, E. Milton Bevington; her sons, Peter and Charles; and her brother, Dr. Jorge A. Lawton. In addition to her remaining children, she is survived by twelve grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Paula donated her body to Emory University School of Medicine. Her Memorial Service will be held on August 16, 2024, at 10:00 AM, at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to Atlanta Legal Aid or to the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Georgia. The family especially thanks DeJon Reese and her team at Rest Assure Home Care, for their compassionate attention to Paula in her final weeks.
