William “Bill” Edward Dalton, 81, of Aiken, S.C., passed away peacefully with his family by his side on May 16 at Aiken Regional Medical Centers.

He was born in Mechanicville, N.Y., Feb. 9, 1932, to the late William Edward and Mary Corrigan Dalton.

A U.S. Navy veteran and a communicant of St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church, Dalton was a former vice president of engineering of Excel Comfort Systems (now Ducane Air Conditioning and Heating). He had a long and distinguished career in the HVACR industry, serving as chairman of Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association (GAMA), as a vice president of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI), and as a long-time member of ARI’s certification programs and policy committee and the unitary small equipment product section. Dalton received the Richard C. Schulze Distinguished Service award from ARI in 2001.