Henry Bundles Jr., who helped found the Center for Leadership Development (CLD) and served as its inaugural president for more than 20 years, died March 26. He was 92.
A’Lelia Bundles said her father demonstrated what it meant to be a leader, and that everywhere she goes now people tell her about the difference he made in their lives.
“He set a great example for me in terms of giving back to the community,” she said. “He often talked about being a servant leader, that you give to your community and you do it because you want your community to be a better place.”
Bundles was born in 1927 and grew up on the south side of Indianapolis. The seventh of his parents’ nine children, Bundles grew up poor. He would tell a story about how his family couldn’t afford a birthday cake one year, so his mother made him a bowl of red Jell-O. At his 65th birthday party in 1992, the family arranged for a platter of red Jell-O with “Junebug” (his nickname) written in whipped cream.
Bundles said her father told those stories of his childhood not to evoke pity, but to demonstrate what it took to overcome those circumstances.
“When he told my brothers Lance, Mark and me those stories, he wanted us to understand just how far he had come and how hard you have to work to get what you want,” she said. “Those are good lessons. There’s nothing to be ashamed of when you’re struggling.”
Bundles said one of her favorite memories of her father was when he would pull the car over to the side of the road if a good song came on the radio just so everyone could dance. Bundles said her father was also a logical thinker. She wanted to go to New York City for college, but her father wanted her to go to Harvard University. Bundles reminded his daughter that the fun they had in the city was with vacation money, which she wouldn’t have as a student. Bundles eventually settled on her father’s wish and enrolled at Harvard University.
Bundles moved to Florida in the early 2000s with his second wife, Helen Baker Bundles, so A’Lelia Bundles had a standing appointment with her father at 11:30 every Sunday morning — the time after he would get home from church but before he would go out for the afternoon — for a phone call. Once, though, he called in the middle of the week after reading one of Bundles’ books, “Madam Walker Theatre Centre: An Indianapolis Treasure,” and left a message she still keeps on her phone.
“Hello, lady,” he said. “I read your book from cover to cover. I’m so proud of you.”
After graduating from Crispus Attucks High School in 1943 at 16 years old, Bundles enrolled in Indiana University’s School of Journalism. He was a photographer and reporter for the Navy during World War II but, like many Black reporters at that time, couldn’t get a job with a daily newspaper in Indianapolis. He eventually became a successful sales and business man, and was president and CEO of Summit Laboratories, an international hair care company.
After his first wife, A’Lelia Mae Perry Bundles, died in 1976, Bundles launched CLD with Lilly Endowment and IU’s business school. CLD prepares minority youth in Central Indiana for college. Jim Morris, vice chairman of Pacers Sports and Entertainment, was president of Lilly Endowment at the time and said Bundles, his friend for over 50 years, was smart and fun to be around.
“Henry was a very special man,” Morris said. “He was a blessing to his friends. He was a perfect gentleman, a thoughtful individual. … He’s one of the greatest men I’ve ever known.”
Dennis Bland, president of CLD, participated in the program when he was in high school and began volunteering there after he graduated college. Bland said he’s come to realize how much Bundles shaped his life over that time and now feels a “deep responsibility and obligation” to continue that legacy.
“I always asked Mr. Bundles when he would write a book,” Bland said. “I was always fascinated by the combination of his intelligence … his experiences over a wide range of time and his sharp memory.”
(A’Lelia Bundles said she has her father’s unpublished memoirs and may do “something” with them someday.)
By the time Bundles retired in 2000, he and his team had mentored more than 5,000 Central Indiana students, more than 80% of whom went on to college. CLD now serves more than 2,000 students each year and awarded more than $5 million in scholarships at its annual Minority Achievers Awards and Scholarship Gala in March.
In a statement, Joyce Rogers — vice president for development and external relations for diversity, equity and multicultural affairs with the Indiana University Foundation — said Bundles was “instrumental” in creating IU’s 50-year-old Groups Scholars Program to ensure African American men could go to college.
“Henry was a true trailblazer in this community and touched the lives of many, both throughout the state of Indiana and beyond,” Rogers said. “He created one of our most successful college readiness programs to date in CLD and was single-handedly responsible for many students of color matriculating and becoming successful leaders in our communities.”
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
Bundles once received a bowl of red Jell-O as a child for his birthday because his parents couldn’t afford a cake, so his family surprised him with Jell-O at his 65th birthday party in 1992. (Photo/John Gentry)
