Fiancee, Brother Of Ellington Businessman Carrying On His Legacy

ELLINGTON, CT — Just two months ago, Dustin Odell seemed to have it all. A young man of 37, he had a beautiful fiancee and a thriving business, Beaver Tree Service, for which he had worked for many years before purchasing it two years ago. He was well-known and respected for his professionalism and work ethic, and admired for his contributions to his community.

Unfortunately, that all ended on the evening of April 17, when Odell was killed in an all-terrain vehicle accident on Snipsic Lake Road. The business he had worked so hard to grow was suddenly minus its leader; however, his fiancee, Amanda Seplowitz, and younger brother Max banded together with his employees, and the group is determined to continue Odell's legacy of quality workmanship

In an exclusive interview with Patch, Seplowitz and Max Odell recently talked about Dustin's dreams and how they plan to continue to carry on his good name.

"Everyone wants to continue this for him and to uphold what he had instilled in the business, in his crew and values," Seplowitz said. "This is the way Dustin ran his business, this is what he wanted for the business, and we all want that too."

She was left the business in Odell's will. "I am committed to running this business, but I am learning as I go," she said.

Enter Max Odell, who at 23 is equally committed to ensuring his brother's expectations are fulfilled.

"I'm just trying to make the man proud," he said.

The primary goal of Seplowitz, Odell and the crew members is to maintain the quality of work Dustin provided.

"We want to continue providing the quality service his clients expect from Beaver Tree," Seplowitz said. "He was very adamant about protecting people's property. It's very easy to cause damage when taking down a tree."

Max Odell concurred, evoking a bit of wisdom he and his brother obtained from their late father, Skip.

"The classic Boy Scout maxim is 'always leave your campsite cleaner than when you got there'," he said. "Our father instilled in us that anything worth doing is worth doing right."

He said his brother was always the kind of person who wanted to help others.

"Fundamentally, y0ou can always change your ways, and you should always be available to someone who's trying to change their ways," he said.

Seplowitz said, "His intention was to keep growing his own business, so we're going to try and follow that, keeping the quality and integrity of what we're doing for our clients at the same level he would have expected and provided."

More information about Beaver Tree Service may be found online at www.beavertreect.net.

To register for free Ellington and Somers news alerts and more, click here.