NEW ALBANY, OHIO — Russell T. Bundy, one of the most prominent leaders in baking, as an entrepreneur, curator and philanthropist, died April 5. He was 92 years old.

Bundy’s entrepreneurial drive coincided with his stint as a 25-year-old national sales manager for Ekco/Glaco, then one of the largest manufacturers of baking pans and suppliers of coating services in the United States. With an eye toward something more, Bundy branched out and started his own glazing company in the Pittsburgh area. Several setbacks failed to deter Bundy, as he shifted his business from glazing to that of selling used baking pans.

In 1964, Bundy firmly entrenched himself in baking, founding Russell T. Bundy Associates, Inc. (the precursor to Bundy Baking Solutions), a company created to sell used baking pans and bakery equipment. But it would be in another 10 years that he would make one of his greatest contributions to baking — the opening of the first Pan-Glo facility in Urbana, Ohio, to make quality pan cleaning and coating services readily available to Midwestern bakeries.

Bundy’s vision with the opening of the Urbana facility was to provide customers with a dependable source for cleaning and glazing the pans he and other bakers sold. What he achieved with the Pan-Glo opening was a facility that provided attention to detail and superior customer service.

A second plant soon opened in Maple Shade, NJ, followed by locations in St. Louis, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Jacksonville, Fla. Over time, Pan-Glo grew to dominate the industry, buying its largest competitor, Ekco Products, in 1998.

Expanding beyond traditional baking equipment, Bundy in the early 1980s started the American Pan Co. to manufacture commercial bun and pizza pans. He subsequently started manufacturing bread and specialty pans for the commercial baker.

Bundy also was known for his interest in bakery memorabilia dating back to the early 1970s, when, after seeing a bakery in Virginia close and the subsequent disbursement of equipment, he decided to transfer a sign that had been displayed on the bakery to Urbana. Over the next 40-plus years, Bundy collected signs, bakery equipment, memorabilia, containers, wax wrapping paper, transportation systems and advertisements from hundreds of bakeries. The items are displayed in the Bundy Baking Museum in Urbana.

Reflecting on the museum in an interview with Baking & Snack in October 2002, Bundy said, “I believe we need to have a connection to our past. Our nation and the world have many wonderful museums on natural and scientific history. But my passion is for the baking industry, and this is a one-of-a-kind facility in which I hope to preserve the craftsmanship and zeal of the past for the brighter future of our industry.”

Among the museum’s unique pieces are a Hostess Cake sleigh used between 1915 and 1920 to deliver Hostess cakes in northern Michigan, as well as an authentic working display of Continental Baking Co.’s automated Wonder Bread exhibit from the 1939 World’s Fair at New York City.

In 2020, the museum became the official home of the Baking Hall of Fame of the American Society of Baking. Bundy was part of the inaugural class elected to the Baking Hall of Fame in 2006.

Bundy received several accolades during his lifetime, including being named recipient of the Robert A. Fischer Distinguished Service Award by the American Society of Baking in 2014. He also was part of the ASB, the Bakery Equipment Manufacturers Association and the American Bakers Association.

He is survived by his wife of over 52 years, Elizabeth (Walker) Bundy; his children, Cheryl (Robert) Mitchell, Lora (Ron) Young, Beth (Joe) Wroblewski, Russell Bundy Jr. (Tom), Gilbert Bundy, William (Nikki) Bundy, and Robert (Amanda) Bundy; 15 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a daughter, Nola Bundy; daughter-in-law, Kristina (Keller) Bundy; granddaughter, Brooke Bundy; his parents, and his siblings, Betty, Almon, Georgia, Helen, John and Ethel.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, April 12 at 11 a.m. at Central College Presbyterian Church, 975 S Sunbury Rd, Westerville, Ohio 43081, with a celebration of life to follow from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. at The Estate at New Albany 5216 Forest Dr, New Albany, Ohio.