Oliver D. Filley Jr. of Far Hills, N.J., and Chappaquiddick, died peacefully on Dec. 26 at the Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, N.J. He was 91 and had deep roots in Chappaquiddick, where he had been a summer resident for more than six decades.

He was a loving father, sportsman, farmer, entrepreneur and inventor with a brilliant mind and warm smile that endeared him to people of all ages.

He was born in New York city on Oct. 31, 1923, the son of Oliver D. and Mary Pyne Filley. He graduated from the Groton School in 1941 and was in the class of 1945 at Harvard College.

Known as Obbie or O.D., he served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II, piloting B-25s in the Pacific.

He lived in New York city, Bernardsville, N.J., The Plains, Va., and Pittsburgh, Pa., before moving to Far Hills in 1953. He married Moira L. Redmond in 1949 and their marriage lasted for nearly 60 years; she died in March 2009 at the age of 82. They raised five children at Oldacre Farm, their home in Far Hills, spending summers at their family home on Chappaquiddick, which Mr. Filley’s parents had bought in 1947. He had a long legacy in land conservation on Chappy. In 1959 his father, the late Oliver D. Filley, along with his college roommate the late Charles Sumner Bird, had made a gift of land to The Trustees of Reservations: two miles of unspoiled beach at Cape Pogue that was the founding property for what is today the Cape Pogue Wildlife Refuge.

In the late 1960s Obbie became actively involved in a grass roots community campaign led by the late Mary Wakeman to save a large area of land at Wasque from development. Today that land is Wasque Reservation, also owned by the Trustees. Obbie served on the local committee for the Trustees for many years.

Obbie and Moira loved to spend time enjoying the natural world on Chappy and sharing meals and conversation with family and friends at their summer house. Among his many skills, Obbie was an accomplished piano player who could liven up any party with his jazz standards and other pieces.

His professional career spanned several industries and interests, including the construction company he owned and operated, followed by Black River Pool and Plastics as well as Poly Fiber, which built parts for the Telstar space project. Later he joined the construction cost analysts, Wood & Tower, then started Filley & Company where he invented and patented the Benchmark system. Examples of his work at Black River Pool and Plastics still stand at the Chappaquiddick Beach Club in the distinctive red, white and blue-roofed cabanas there.

He was a member of the New York Farmers, the Essex Fox Hounds and the Tewksbury Foot Bassetts.

He is survived by his five children, Patrick Filley of Wilton, Conn., K. Haven Cutler of West Tisbury, Jonathan Filley of Millbrook, N.Y., Woody Filley of Edgartown, and Oliver Filley of Pottersville, N.J.; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A private family memorial was held in Far Hills on Jan. 5. A memorial service is being planned and will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Trustees of Reservations, P.O. Box 2106 Vineyard Haven, MA 02568; please stipulate that the donation is for use on Chappaquiddick properties.