Nicholas Ray Pund

Nicholas Ray Pund was born on July 18, 1941, in Toledo, Ohio, son of the late Robert and Dorthea (Reighard) Pund. Nick graduated from Libbey High School (Toledo) in 1959. Following graduation, he served in the Army National Guard and the United States Air Force as a medical corpsman and was a pitcher on Scott Air Force Base's fast-pitch traveling baseball team. In 1967, he began his automobile career and eventually moved to Tampa, Florida with his family. In 1983, he joined Imperial Auto Auction, which was acquired by Cox Enterprises. Nick was appointed general manager of both Imperial and Lakeland Auto Auctions until 1991 when he became general manager of Manheim Tampa. He traveled the United States rising through the ranks to become vice president of operations for Manheim Auctions under Cox Enterprises. In 1995, he purchased the Central Wisconsin Auto Auction and East Tennessee Auto Auction where he served as owner and general manager until he retired in 2000. After his retirement, he married Jeanne Ashley on July 28, 2000, and they moved to Poinciana, Florida, and later to The Villages. Nick enjoyed spending the summers traveling the United States with Jeanne in their motor home making new friends wherever they went. He spent much of his time playing bridge. He loved his bridge family and in January 2022 he became a Silver Life Master. He also enjoyed golfing. In 1991, he placed 5th in the NFL Alumni National Golf Tournament and at age eighty he was awarded a certificate for a hole-in-one. Nick was active in church as a choir member leading to one of his favorite pastimes of flipping through his hymnbook, recording himself singing, and then proudly sharing his recordings with his family. During his life, Nick was very involved in charitable causes some of which included: helping form the Florida Youth Foundation, organizing golf tournaments to raise money for the YMCA, Special Olympics, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, All Children's Hospital Foundation, and several others. He also served on the corporate board of the Boys and Girls Club. Nick was known to help families in need, frequently awarding scholarships through USF to make college affordable for those who needed it most. He is survived by his wife Jeanne Ashley; sisters Tina (Mike) Wood and Cookie Hazard (late Nick Hazard); daughters Ruth Janego (Tim Janego), Jenny Pund, Mary (Eriks) Means, and Debbie (Billy) Lennon; stepdaughters Kim (John) Dunbar and Nikki Schiefelbein; thirteen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, October 15, 2022, at Rock of Ages Lutheran Church, ELCA, town of Wildwood. Pastor Don Erickson will officiate. A luncheon will be served following the service. The family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff at Cornerstone Hospice Care for their loving care of Nick. The family has requested that any donations be made to the Nick Pund Memorial Fund at Rock of Ages Lutheran Church.