CINCINNATI The man who designed the container for Pringles potato crisps was so proud of his accomplishment that he asked his family to bury him in one of the cans.

Fredric J. Baur, of Cincinnati, died May 4 at Vitas Hospice in Cincinnati. He was 89.

Baur's children honored his request by burying part of his remains in a Pringles can in his grave in a cemetery in suburban Cincinnati. The rest of his remains were placed in an urn buried along with the can.

The retired organic chemist and food storage technician specialized in research and development and quality control for Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co. He also developed frying oils and a freeze-dried ice cream for P&G. The ice cream was patented and marketed, but never caught on with the public, his son Lawrence Baur, of Stevensville, Mich., said.

Baur later became a compliance specialist for P&G and traveled around the world inspecting plants, said his daughter, Linda Baur, of Diamondhead, Miss. He also was a lecturer, author and editor.

Baur received a patent for the tube-shaped Pringles container and for the method of packaging Pringles in 1970, and the container was his proudest accomplishment, Linda Baur said.

Baur received a bachelor's degree from the University of Toledo and a master's degree and a doctorate in organic chemistry from Ohio State University. He served in the Navy during World War II as an aviation physiologist and worked for P&G from the late 1940s until he retired in the early 1980s.

First Published June 2, 2008, 2:42 p.m.