Rudy Bunzl
By: Alumni Publications | Categories: Alumni Achievements, In Memoriam
Rudy Bunzl, ChE 43, of Richmond, Va. on Oct. 16.
Rudy Bunzl led a successful business career and devoted his retirement to philanthropy.
Born in Vienna, Austria, Bunzl fled to England following Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria in 1938. He then immigrated with his family to America and settled in Atlanta, where he attended Georgia Tech.
After graduating in 1943, he moved to California and began working at Shell Chemical. He later joined the Army and served in the Pacific until the end of WWII. After the war, he returned briefly to California before moving to Richmond, Va., in 1954, where he was asked to help establish a new filter manufacturing company.
The company, called American Filtrona Corporation, flourished. He served as CEO of the company until 1987, and retired as chairman in 1994.
Bunzl stayed quite busy in retirement. He pursued his love of history, enrolling at the University of Richmond and earning a master’s degree in history in 1994. Bunzl loved the city of Richmond, and after retiring, he devoted himself to giving back to the community. With his wife, Esther, Bunzl established the REB Foundation to support public education. Together with the Community Foundation, they created the REB Awards for Teacher Excellence, which provided grants to teachers.
In addition, he devoted his time to serving as a member of numerous nonprofit boards, including time as the director of the Richmond Symphony Foundation and the Science Museum of Virginia Foundation.
