Fletcher Creamer Sr.
Entrepreneur
Born: Teaneck, New Jersey
Lived in: Park Ridge, New Jersey
Died: March 30, 2012, at age 85
New Jersey Hall of Fame, Class of 2018: Enterprise

Given his lifelong involvement in the infrastructure business, it’s no surprise that J. Fletcher Creamer Sr. was a pillar of his community.

A product of northern New Jersey, Creamer grew up destined to serve in his family’s construction business, J. Fletcher Creamer & Son Inc. But first, Creamer served his country as a member of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Theater in World War II and during the Korean War.

Creamer’s ancestor, J. Fletcher Creamer II, founded the family company in 1923 in Fort Lee with a single truck that he used to make deliveries. Eventually, he took on larger jobs, including the hauling of excavated materials during the construction of the George Washington Bridge. By the time Creamer Sr. took the reins as president in the 1970s, the family business has grown into a major infrastructure contractor.

The company’s growth continued in the 1980s under Creamer Sr., who established a new headquarters in Hackensack. Creamer Sr. diversified the company into new services, creating additional revenue streams. Notable projects in this period included the installation of synthetic turf at the original Giants Stadium. By the 1990s, the company was ranked as the state’s 43rd largest privately owned firm. At the end of the decade, Creamer was lauded as one of three construction companies that completed the complicated new interchange at routes 4 and 17 in record time.

Creamer Sr., who rose to chairman of the family company, served his region and the state in many ways. Among other posts, he was chairman of the Fort Lee Chamber of Commerce, finance chairman of Bergen County under Governor Tom Kean, and a commissioner of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.