Kenneth Hilton Fisher

Kenneth Hilton Fisher, retired President of United Jersey Banks now part of Bank of America, died on November 28. He was 97 and lived in Harrington Park, NJ with his devoted wife of 68 years, the late Carolyn T. Fisher, and more recently, with his caring partner, Mildred (Millie) Steinmetz. He was the proud and loving father of three sons, Robert A. and fiancée Kathleen Keady of Harrington Park, Kenneth H. Jr. and wife Peggy of Falls Church, VA and Frederick J. and wife Dr. Krista of Harrington Park; five grandchildren: Leila, Christopher, Carolyn, Katie and Jon; and two great-grandchildren: Ella and Savanna, all of whom he loved dearly. Ken graduated from Bogota High School in June 1935 (in the middle of the Great Depression) and was fortunate to get a job with The Hackensack Trust Company delivering the mail on Main Street, Hackensack for a salary of $600 a year. He considered himself even more fortunate that, four years later as a teller trainee, his salary had increased by 50% – to $900 a year! Several nights a week, he attended classes at the American Institute of Banking and, after graduating, he attended and graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers and the Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management at Dartmouth. After 19 years with the Ridgefield National Bank (now The Bank of New York Mellon), he was recruited by Peoples Trust Company of Bergen County. In 1961, he was elected a senior vice president and, in 1962, executive vice president, and director and vice chairman of the bank’s executive committee. During this time, Mr. Fisher played a key role in effecting change in what were then very restrictive banking laws in New Jersey. Those laws forced many New Jersey businesses and governmental agencies to rely on out-of-state banks for their financial requirements. At the request of a commission appointed by Gov. Robert B. Meyner to examine New Jersey’s banking laws, he researched and authored the 64-page study “Whither Banking in New Jersey”. This study became a guide for the development of legislation that allowed statewide bank branching, merging and the formation of bank holding companies. In August 1970, following the formation by Peoples Trust of the multi-bank holding company, United Jersey Banks, Mr. Fisher was elected its founding president and vice chairman of the lead bank, UJB Hackensack (formerly Peoples Trust). In 1978, Ken retired for health reasons from both official banking positions, but remained on the boards of directors of the holding company and of two of the member banks and continued to teach bank management to the staffs of member banks for several years. His 18 years of official service at United Jersey Banks capped 43 years in banking in which he filled virtually every position, from mail boy in 1935 to the presidency of United Jersey Banks, which, at the time he retired, had 21 member banks, 210 branches, a mortgage company and Gibraltar Corporation of America, a secured commercial lender. Mr. Fisher served as a Trustee and as President of the Bergen County Chapter of the American Institute of Banking and as Trustee and President of the Bergen County Bankers Association. Ken was also very active in civic and humanitarian organizations, having served as Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 111 in Harrington Park, a Vice President and Trustee of Hackensack Hospital, Vice President and Trustee of both the Boy Scout and Girl Scout Councils of Bergen County, President of the Hackensack Chamber of Commerce, a Director of the Volunteer Bureau of Bergen County and of the Bergen County Urban League. He also served as Elder and First Vice President of The Community Church in Harrington Park. In 1984, he was asked to chair “Community Housing of Harrington Park, Inc.”, a Community Church-organized non-profit managed by volunteers which planned, financed, and built a 72-unit senior citizen condominium, Brookside Village of Harrington Park, where he continued to serve in a management role. Mr. Fisher was the recipient of many civic recognitions, including “Volunteer of the Year” from both the Borough of Harrington Park and the County of Bergen, The Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, The Humanitarian Award from ARC (Association for Retarded Citizens), the Silver Beaver Award from the Boy Scout Council, the President’s Award from the Girl Scout Council and the Christian Leadership Award from the Bergen County Council of Churches. A veteran of World War II, he served with the US Navy as part of an Advance Base Team that took control of, and operated, the port at Casablanca, French Morocco, as part of the invasion of North Africa. Mr. Fisher remained alert, active and engaged to the end of his life, reading The Wall Street Journal daily, providing valued advice and generous support to his family, serving his church and the Brookside Village community, comforting his wife in her years-long battle with cancer, and cherishing his new-found relationship with Millie. He always said he was “blessed.” He was a blessing to many others. Visiting will be at the home of Mildred Steinmetz, 20 Blanch Ave. Apt. 105, Harrington Park, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on both Thursday, December 11 and Friday, December 12, 2014. A Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Kenneth Fisher will be offered at The Community Church, 85 Harriot Ave., Harrington Park, at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 13, followed, at 4:30 p.m., by a reception in Ken Fisher Hall, Brookside Village, 40 Blanch Ave., Harrington Park. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations to be sent to the What If? Foundation, a nonprofit organization that the Fishers have supported for many years. Gifts will help build a classroom in a new school for impoverished children in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. What If? Foundation, 1563 Solano Ave., #192, Berkeley, CA 94707, www.whatiffoundation.org. Please indicate that your gift is in honor of Kenneth H. Fisher.