John Orland Rundell, age 87, was born on April 30th, 1938, in Springfield, Massachusetts, and died, surrounded by family, at his home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on May 13th, 2025, following a long and heroic battle against cancer.
John is survived by his devoted wife of 65 years, Luella M. Rundell (Bishop) of the home, daughter, Heather Rundell Cameron (Raymond) of Sandwich, NH, son, Ethan Sean Rundell (Kristen) of Boone, NC, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Jennifer Rundell Leach, father, Theodore W. Rundell, mother, Dorothy E. Rundell (Sleesman), and brother, James F. Rundell.
After obtaining Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Eastern Michigan State University, in 1972 John earned a PhD. in Microbiology from North Carolina State University. His career led him down many paths, including an assistant professorship at Guilford College (Greensboro, NC), a post-doctoral appointment at John Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore, MD), and periods directing laboratory research at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD) and Litton Bionetics (Rockville, MD). As his final career destination, in 1986 John took a leap of faith and founded his own company, Molecular Toxicology, Inc. (Annapolis, MD, and Boone, NC). Upon his retirement, John was awarded the Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society’s Alexander Hollaender Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the fields of environmental mutagenesis and genomics.
Alongside membership in various professional organizations, John took great pleasure in contributing to his local community as a member of the Blowing Rock Rotary Club, Hearts of Hospitality House, and St. Mary of the Hills Episcopal Church. A great hobbyist, he nurtured, at various moments of his life, passions for photography, sailing, vintage automobile restoration, and competitive marksmanship. An avid golfer, in later years John became an even more avid devotee of croquet, striving to learn all aspects of the sport and enthusiastically promoting it both on and off the court.
John’s proudest accomplishment, however, was his family. He was a devoted and cherished husband, a loving and generous father, and a precious grandfather to all seven of his grandchildren. He left his mark and enriched the lives of all who met him along the way.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, May 28th, 2025, at 11 a.m., at St. Mary of the Hills Episcopal Church, in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. There will be a reception to follow the service. In lieu of flowers, it is requested that donations be made to the Western Youth Network.
