Former Cary Mayor Dies at 68

Fred G. Bond, one of Cary's most popular elected officials, died Sunday afternoon. Bond, 68, had been dealing with a recurrence of cancer. He had served 18 years on the Cary Town Council, 12 of those as mayor.

Bond led Cary in its evolution from being a bedroom-community of nearby Raleigh to being one of the state's dynamic small cities. When he joined the council in 1965, the town's population was 7,000; when he stepped down as mayor in 1983, it was almost 26,000. Today, Cary has 70,000 residents.

Bond was particularly interested in wanting Cary to grow but to maintain its small-town image as well. He liked to refer to it as the "village atmosphere."

Present Mayor Koka Booth was quoted inThe News & Observer as saying, "Whatever Cary was and whatever Cary will be was because of Fred Bond's leadership."

During his tenure, Cary changed its election process to a popularly elected (rather than appointed) mayor and to district and at-large candidates; built a new town hall; built a new library; created an appearance commission and a downtown improvement program; and organized various programs into town government departments.

Bond was also the retired general manager and secretary-treasurer of the Flue-Cured Tobacco Stabilization Corp. That body administers the federal price support program by buying tobacco with borrowed federal funds, storing it until it can be sold during a more favorable market and then the loans are repaid.

Bond's standing with that organization was such that when a national steering committee of people prominent in tobacco and agriculture set a goal of $500,000 for a scholarship program in his name, it actually raised $600,000.

In 1981, the city's park on High House Road was named in his honor.

Survivors include his wife, two daughters and two sons, and four grandchildren.

Funeral services are pending at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home in Cary.