Royal Ernest Fliedner, 94, of Brooklyn formerly of Long Branch, passed away peacefully Thursday, June 6, 2024.

Royal Ernest Fliedner was born in Long Branch on March 1,1930. He was the son of the late Royal Everett Fliedner and Isabel Dodd Fliedner. He was raised by his grandparents, the late Herman and Edith Fliedner and his aunts, Cora and Ethel, in Oakhurst, New Jersey. His uncle James Reilly taught him to fly in 1946. He soloed in June 1946 and received his private pilot’s license on his 17th birthday. He was one of the nation’s youngest licensed pilots. He graduated from Sayville High School in Sayville, Long Island, New York in 1948. He graduated from Monmouth Junior College (Monmouth University) in 1951.

Immediately after graduation, he joined the US Army. He attended leadership school in Fort Dix, New Jersey and he then attended the Infantry Officer’s Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia. He served in Korea with the Second Infantry Division, 23rd Regiment, Second Battalion, as a leader of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Squads. He returned home in August 1953 and married his fiancé, the late Lois Ann Woolley, on August 22, 1953. They were married for 64 years.

After discharge from the Army, he went to work as a teller for John G. Lawley at the Shadow Lawn Savings and Loan Association, where he climbed the corporate ladder. He received a graduate diploma in Savings and Loan Management from the University of Indiana in 1960. He became President in 1979 and served in that capacity until his retirement in December 1991. During his tenure as President, he, along with the late Anthony J. Gaetano, expanded Shadow Lawn’s role from that of a single family mortgage lender to a complete home developer. Shadow Lawn purchased land, developed communities, and built and sold homes. One of Shadow Lawn’s biggest projects was the purchase of Deal Terrace, formerly the Walter Reade estate, on Deal Road in Ocean Township, which was developed into 97 single family homes.

During his career, he was a member of the Long Branch Exchange Club and served as its President in 1963. Later, he joined the Long Branch Rotary Club and served as its President in 1979. He was awarded the Rotary Club’s national Paul Harris Service Award.

He was a member of the Board of Trustees of Monmouth University in the 1980’s and was awarded the Monmouth College Distinguished Alumni of the Year award in 1983.

After his retirement in 1993, he and his wife Lois moved to Skytop, Pennsylvania, where he renewed his passion for flying. Lois and he returned to Monmouth County in 2004 and moved to Brooklyn, New York in 2014. He and Lois enjoyed sailing and often sailed into New York Harbor, up the Hudson River to West Point, and up the East River to the Long Island Sound leading to New England. They were also dog lovers, He had five great dogs in his lifetime; Puggy, Fonzie, Joshua, Jasper and Miles.

He is survived by his brother, William Fliedner, and his wife JoAnn of Wall, New Jersey; two sons, Todd and Marc, and son-in-law, Steven Fisher, New York City; his grandson Dylan and his wife Caylie, New York City and his granddaughter Julianna, Jersey City.

He was a member of the Saint Luke’s United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Monmouth County SPCA.

Visitation Tuesday June 11th 10:00 am until the time of the service at 11:00 am at the Woolley-Boglioli Funeral Home, 10 Morrell Street, Long Branch, NJ.  Burial to follow in Glenwood Cemetery, West Long Branch.

For messages of condolence, please visit Roy’s page of tributes at www.woolleyboglioli.com.