Shirley Norton Dreyer

Shirley Norton Dreyer, of Pelican Island, passed away peacefully on August 13th, 2026 at home.

Shirley Dreyer was born on March 12th, 1938 in Minnesota to Victor and Dora Norton, but grew up in Los Angeles, CA. From California, Shirley went to Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL where she met her future husband of 68 years Frank ‘Marty’ Dreyer. From Florida, Shirley became a teacher at the Seaside Heights Elementary School in 1970 starting out in the 6th grade for 2 years and then settling in for 33 years at Kindergarten. Everyone can remember how strict but compassionate ‘Mrs. Dreyer’ was when they were in Kindergarten. She was always dressed to impress 5 year olds in her elegant way. Mrs. Dreyer would do fancy art projects and play the piano for the children.

Shirley was a devoted wife to Marty for 68 years, and a loving mother to Christian. She is also survived by her daughter-in-law Dani Dreyer and her only grandchild, Maximus Dreyer.

Shirley was also a fixture in the Seaside business community for over 30 years. She built the Spinnaker Apartments in 1974 on Dupont Avenue providing Jersey Shore memories for so many families. After selling the Spinnaker Apartments she bought Chris’ Parking Lot on Sumner Avenue and ran that until 2005. She ran these businesses while still teaching and running a family. She was the picture of hard work and a strong work ethic.

If you were a real friend of Shirley’s, you knew how much she loved to shop and her taste for style and fashion was second to none. She could ‘window shop’ for days. Her and her friends would drive hours for a rumor of a new quaint shop to investigate. She loved to spend time with her friends which usually involved fine dining excursions, checking out local performances and Broadway shows, travel all over the world and of course the occasional window shopping along the way.

One of her true loves was dogs. She would pamper the family dogs like no other. Nothing was off the table from toys, treats, or table scraps! Brandi, Troop, Ola, Woton, Kingston and Ranger were just a few of the lucky ones to benefit from her love.

Shirley truly practiced selflessness and generosity when it came to her son, Christian and his friends. She drove half the team to countless practices and soccer games for years on end. She would give the crew $100 to get some pizza. The crew would disappear for hours after pizza in the boardwalk arcades, and she wouldn’t ask where the change went. She never complained about the time she invested in their futures.

Probably, her biggest thrill was becoming a grandmother, or Nini, as she was called by her only grandchild, Maximus. Maximus enjoyed all the perks of the dogs and Christian – and then some! Maximus would walk over to Nini’s for some ‘glop’, ice cream with just about anything else he wanted to put on there, on a regular basis.

Funeral services are private.

Arrangements are entrusted to Jersey Shore Cremation Service, 43 Taylor Avenue, Manasquan, NJ - JerseyShoreCremation.com