James R. Ahart, Pe

age 75, of Dayton, OH, died Monday, June 25, 2001. Born on April 27, 1926, his mother named him after James Russell Lowell, one of her favorite poets. Jim served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and earned his BSME from Case Western University in 1948. Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Orris Joseph Ahart and Esther Gladys Jenkins Ahart of Arion IA; his older brother Robert Burton Ahart of Dallas TX who died just 2 years ago; his sister Frances Lorraine who died in infancy; and by numerous relatives in the Dow City and Denison IA areas. Survivors include his longtime companion Doris Wallace of Dayton OH; 4 daughters: Anne and her husband Steven Kline of Miamisburg OH, Martha and her husband Ronald Sullivan of San Francisco CA, Barbara and her husband Dan Cutillo of Perrysburg OH, and Fran and her husband Brad Booth of Phoenix AZ; 6 grandchildren: Emily and Sean Kline, Maria and Michael Sullivan, and Cameron and Lauren Cutillo. He is also survived by his sister Corrine and her husband Bernard Smyth of Arion IA; his sister-in-law Eugenia Ahart of Dallas TX; and Doris's children: daughter Jennifer Wallace and grandchildren Christyanna and Anthony of Chicago IL, son Scott and Jill Wallace and granddaughter, Courtney of Centerville OH, and son Christopher and Janis Wallace and grandson Benjamin of Dayton OH. Jim Ahart's death marked the end of the career of an early pioneer in the use of computers for building design. After graduating from Case, Jim spent the next seven years in the mechanical contracting business supervising the installation of HVAC systems before opening his own consulting engineering practice, James R. Ahart & Associates, on Salem Avenue in Dayton OH in 1959. At it's peak, his firm employed more than 90 people, designing mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems of all types as well as providing civil engineering services. The firm was responsible for the design and engineering of several major buildings in the Dayton area including: the Dayton Convention Center, the Federal Building, the Lakewoods, Colonel White High School, the IBM building, the Grant-Deneau Tower, and the Dayton Inn, as well as some very sophisticated projects for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and the U.S. Air Force. In 1962 Jim also founded J.R. Ahart, Inc. to provide computer services to small and medium-sized companies in the Dayton area at a time when only the largest companies could afford computers. One of the computer applications Jim pioneered was the Critical Path Method (CPM), and he supplied CPM services to companies across the country for the scheduling of large construction projects. Successes included several new department stores for the Federated chain and projects for various universities and governmental agencies. Jim also developed a technique in which buildings would be instrumented with a variety of sensors, and a computer would call the building's system every hour or so to read back the conditions as determined by the sensors. The data would then be analyzed and summarized by the computer to determine how the mechanical systems were performing under a variety of conditions. The largest contract of this type was a study to evaluate heat conservation systems for the U.S. Post Office which involved the monitoring of three post offices around the country. In 1966 Jim co-founded Automated Procedures for Engineering Consultants, Inc. (APEC) to develop computer software for engineering design professionals and served as it first Program Development Chairman. At its peak, APEC claimed a membership of over 200 engineering firms and their branch offices in 14 countries around the world. Jim was awarded two patents for work he performed for Steelcase, Inc. and has been in great demand throughout his career for presenting seminars and talks concerning the application of computers to the design of Heating and Air Conditioning Systems. Internationally, he has conducted seminars in Tokyo, Jakarta, and Melbourne, Australia. He taught at Sinclair Community College and has been a guest lecturer at the University of Illinois, the University of Wisconsin and Ohio Northern University. He also has addressed many local and regional professional society meetings and authored numerous articles in trade publications. A friend of Jim's in St. Louis recently termed him ''a true Renaissance man of his time'', and few who knew him would disagree. As Jim requested, his body has been cremated and no memorial service will be held. However, a Visitation to meet with family and friends and celebrate Jim's life will be held on Sunday, July 15 from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. at Routsong Funeral Home, 6 Oakwood Ave. at Irving, Oakwood OH. If desired, contributions may be sent in Jim's name to the American Cancer Society, Montgomery County Unit, 40 S. Perry St., Ste, 120, Dayton OH 45402-1429 or to Hospice of Dayton, PO Box 3509, Dayton OH 45401-3509. Condolences may also be sent to the family via the guestbook at www.routsong.com

Service:
2100 E. Stroop Rd.
Kettering, OH
US 45429
No Service

Funeral Home:
Oakwood Routsong Funeral Home
6 Oakwood Ave.
Oakwood, OH
US 45409