The funeral for Lillian. G. Burry, former Colts Neck Mayor and Monmouth County Freeholder, well known and highly respected patriot and beloved wife, mother grandmother and great grandmother will be Tuesday, September 8 at the Colts Neck Reformed Church, Route 537, Colts Neck.
Visitation will be Monday, September 7, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Holmdel Funeral Home, 26 South Holmdel Road, Holmdel. Burial will follow at the Atlantic Cemetery in Colts Neck.
Mrs. Burry died Thursday, August 28 at home.
Born January 15, 1936 in New York City, she was the daughter of Luigi Beneforti and Rina Beneforti (nee Scotto). She attended public schools and Wagner College, graduating Cum Laude with a B.A. Degree in Political Science & History. She was elected to the National History Fraternity and in 2005 was granted the Wagner College Fellow in Political Science.
Married to Donald Burry for 70 years, the couple lived in Matawan where Mrs. Burry began her public service as a councilwoman. After moving to Colts Neck, she served as Committeewoman, Deputy Mayor, and Mayor, making her mark in historic preservation and open space conservation. Mrs. Burry negotiated the purchase of the Montrose schoolhouse, the only publicly owned one-room schoolhouse in Colts Neck. This was accomplished at the cost of $1 from the township’s former Historical Society.
Elected to the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders in November 2005, she was reelected in 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017 and reelected to the Board of County Commissioners in 2020. She served as the first woman Director in 2008 and again in 2010, 2014 and 2017. She was the liaison to the Board of Elections, Planning Board, Agricultural Board, Library, Historic Commission and Consumer Affairs.
Mrs. Burry was appointed to the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority serving as Vice Chair and to the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority, where she chaired the Veterans Affairs Sub-Committee and served on the Real Estate Sub-Committee. She was appointed by the Commissioner of the Interior, to the Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee for the National Park Service.
Throughout her life, Mrs. Burry was the recipient of many awards citing her achievements in the areas of history, education, preservation, Open Space, scouting and in the numerous and varied fields she strived to maintain and improve. Some of her awards included the Marine Corps League Distinguished Citizen, the Sheriff ’s Officers Fraternal Order of Police Person of the Year, the Historical Association’s Person of the Year, the Latino American Association’s Outstanding Community Member and the Eastern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce Spinnaker Award for Public Service.
She was awarded the 2017 Silver Gull Award’s Presidential Award, as well as, the 2017 NJ Women of Achievement Award from the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs; the Monmouth Council Boy Scouts of America (BSA) “Good Scout” Award in 2019 for her leadership and commitment to service at the 20th Annual Good Scouts of Western Monmouth; the Township of Ocean Historical Museum – History Champion Award in 2019; the Brookdale Community College’s Wilbur Ray Community Service Award in April 2020 for exceptional commitment to the community; and the Community Public Servants Award from the Vin Gopal Civic Association in May 2022. She was the first person to receive the Women in History Citation from the Middletown Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Additionally, Commissioner Burry received the Outstanding Service to Agriculture Award and was Grand Marshal of the Open Space Pace Parade ; she received the first Count Basie Vanguard Award for lifetime devotion to the Arts and In 2015, she received the first M. Claire French Award, recognizing her leadership in Historical Preservation . In 2016, the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore honored her as a Women of Distinction.
She strived for several years to complete a joint effort she had been highly instrumental in originating by the Vocational Schools, National Park System, and the Freeholders to reconstruct Buildings 23 and 56 on Fort Hancock for the Marine Academy of Science and Technology. One of the two buildings has been completed and is used by MAST cadets in the NJROTC program.
Working in a collaborative effort with the Soldier On organization she found a home for homeless veterans of Monmouth County that opened in November 2021. In May 2023, a Veterans Community Wing was named for Commissioner Burry.
Mrs. Burry was in business for more than 40 years as owner and broker of record of Colts Neck Realty. Married to Donald, a retired Captain from the Coast Guard, they have one daughter and two grandchildren.
Mrs. Burry is survived by her beloved husband of 70 years, Donald L. Burry; her daughter, Lenore Manicioto and her husband Robert Burns of Atlantic Highlands; her sister Alba DiBello and her husband Patrick of Shrewsbury; her grandchildren Stephanie Manicioto and her partner James, Vito Manicioto and his wife Pamela; and great-grandchildren Luca, Lorenzo and Rocco.
In lieu of flowers, at the family’s request donations can be made to Colts Neck Reformed Church.
The obituary of former Monmouth County Freeholder /Commissioner Lillian G Burry outlines many of the areas in which the former Colts Neck Mayor and longtime activist has made her mark on history and Monmouth County,
During the next several days before Mrs Burry’s funeral September 8, VeniVidiScripto will publish a number of personal remembrances from friends and political and leaders in some of the many fields in which she excelled. Many of the memories highlight the warm friendship Mrs Burry had that transcended the political differences that sometimes drew attention away from her numerous accomplishments.
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