By the time Milton Cheverton (September 8, 1918 - December 1, 2001) completed a World War II Navy tour that saw him earn a Distinguished Flying Cross for an air rescue, his mind was made up. He would be an insurance agent. Settling in San Diego after the war, Mr Cheverton began a career in insurance that spanned more than 40 years, many of them as the head of a company he founded in 1952. He died of complications from prostate cancer, he was 83.

During and after his insurance career, Mr Cheverton compiled an exemplary record of community service. Supporting causes from the YMCA to Children's Hospital, he was honored as Volunteer of the Year in the 1970s by the National Fund Raising Executives.

Milton was born in Santa Ana and graduated from Pomona College. As a student there in the late 1930s, he met his future wife, Pauline Kearns, who was attending Scripps College for Women in Claremont. They were married in 1944 in Corpus Christi, Texas, where Milton was stationed in the Navy after a tour of the Pacific as a PBY pilot.

The PBY Catalina, the most celebrated water aircraft of World War II, was widely used to rescue downed pilots. Off the Solomon island of Bougainville, Milton performed a rescue of a downed bomber crew while under fire, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. He also took part in the battle of Guadalcanal. He went on to serve until the late 1950s in the Navy Reserve, retiring as a captain.

Milton began his insurance career in San Diego, his wife's hometown, at R Victor Venberg Co. He later opened Milton R Cheverton Company at the Spreckels Building downtown, specializing in insuring general contractors and trade associations. In 1962 he joined Ralph Bach in forming Cheverton-Bach Company, which by the late 1970s has expanded to 50 people and had become one of the largest general insurance agencies in San Diego. He retired in 1979 after handing the presidency over to his son, Robert. But in three years he was back in business, joining his son and more than 15 others in forming Cheverton & Associates. He retired for good in 1990.

During his career he was elected president of the Independent Insurance Agents of San Diego and California and executive vice president of the Independent Insurance Agents of America.

Milton's favorite cause as a volunteer was the YMCA. In 1983 he was honored by the Copley Family YMCA. The following year, he served as chairman of the YMCA's annual dinner at the Town & Country Convention Center. He was also a former chairman of the board of Children's Hospital and an official of United Way, the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau, the March of Dimes and the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation. His memberships included the San Diego Yacht Club, the Rest & Aspiration Society, Al Bahr Shrine and Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church.

Survivors besides his son Robert include another son, William, of San Diego; and two grandchildren. His wife Pauline, predeceased him in 1996.

San Diego Union-Tribune, December 4, 2001