Charles Edward “Charlie” Entenmann, who was instrumental in transforming his family’s Long Island bakery, New York, from a local delivery company to a household name, has died. He was 92.
An Obituary stated that Entenmann died peacefully on February 24, in Florida. He was surrounded by his children.
Entenmann’s is a staple supermarket item. It was founded by Charlie Entenmann’s grandfather William in Brooklyn in 1898 according to the company .
William, a German immigrant, would transport his baked goods from Germany to homes by horse-drawn wagon.
After William’s son became ill and required medical attention, the family moved the bakery from William’s home to Bay Shore, Long Island in 1900. Families like the Vanderbilts and Morgans loved the bakery’s same delivery format.
Charlie and his brothers, along with his mother, decided to supply supermarkets with their baked goods after his father died in 1951. They introduced transparent packaging that lured customers for decades to chocolate glazed doughnuts, mini chocolate chip cookies, and crumbly coffee cake.
Entenmann’s constructed a bakery on five acres of Bay Shore. Later, the facility was expanded to 14 acres. In 1978, the company was sold and has been sold several times. Bimbo Bakeries USA now owns the company.
Charlie Entenmann, a soldier in the Army, generously donated to Long Island.
He donated to the Great South Bay YMCA, Bay Shore. He also funded research to improve water quality in the Great South Bay. Along with his brothers, he established the Entenmann Family Cardiac Center at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore.
Anne Brigis, YMCA CEO and president of Long Island, said Entenmann was “the definition of kindness and compassion, humility, strength, and humility.”
Brigis stated that Brigis never wanted to be praised for his great philanthropy. “The community at Bay Shore and Long Island has lost a quiet hero and one of its greatest champions.”
Entenmann’s death reveals that Entenmann “had a passion for developing a limitless energy source which led him to develop a self-sustaining power cells at his Biosearch, LLC, research laboratory.” Entenmann also founded Biolife LLC, which produces products for stopping bleeding.
“Nobody knows how he became so intelligent. Entenmann’s son Charles W. Entenmann said that he never went to school. “I don’t believe he ever forgot anything that he read.”
A little-known fact was also revealed by the son: His father did not have a sweet tooth.
The son replied, “I’m going tell you something that has been pretty much a mystery, most of my lifetime anyway,” he said. Entenmann’s cake was not something he ate. He was not a dessert man.”
According to his obituary, Entenmann is survived in death by two children, seven grandchildren, and a “plethora,” of great-grandchildren. He was laid to rest in Bay Shore last week.
