William D Molitor

William D. “Bill” Molitor, 71, passed away at home on February 1, following coronary bypass surgery earlier in the week. Bill was born on September 26, 1946, in Spokane, Washington, to John & Eileen Molitor. But his family moved to Boise when he was 1½ years old, and he always considered himself a Boise native. He attended St. Mary’s School and graduated from St. Teresa’s Academy in 1964. Following high school, he studied for the Catholic priesthood for 2½ years at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon but discerned this was not his vocation. He then attended Boise State College, graduating in 1971. Bill was an avid Boise State Broncos fan throughout his life, and spent many enjoyable evenings watching football games with the same group of friends.
Bill married MaryLou Kramer in 1970. They met as students at Boise State and spent almost 48 years together, raising their own family and also promoting the importance and dignity of marriage and family life in various roles for the Diocese of Boise. Indeed, Bill lived what he taught; he was a committed husband, father and grandfather. His sincere devotion to MaryLou was observed by all who knew him. He always called her “My Queen.”
After college Bill worked for Idaho First National Bank for five years. In 1976 Bill took a position as a director for a Marriage & Family Life program at St. John’s University in Minnesota. But the lure of beautiful Idaho was too great, and they returned to Boise in 1978. He then began a lifelong career in financial planning, earning the designation of Certified Financial Planner in 1994. Over the 39 years he spent helping people manage and invest their resources, many of his clients became good friends. He considered it an honor to serve as their trusted advisor.
Bill’s love affair with photography began in grade school. He bought his first Nikon camera in the late 1960s, and it was followed by several more Nikons. He learned to develop his own photographs and he had the negatives for virtually every picture he ever took, neatly filed by date. Although he resisted it, he finally converted to a digital camera several years ago. Bill’s photography talent was most evident when shooting pictures of people. Because he was such an engaging and friendly man, he was able to put his subjects at ease and always evoke their best smiles and expressions.
Bill loved gardening and had a knack for making his yard look beautiful. He loved flowers of any kind and was happy to plant whatever MaryLou told him they needed in various spaces. With the addition of bird feeders, he developed a hobby of bird watching. After he obtained a field guide and a good pair of binoculars, he could identify most of the birds that visited his yard or flew overhead. Squirrels and weeds were his only known enemies – squirrels because they ate the bird seed, and weeds because they invaded the spaces that should have been filled with flowers.
Bill was a kind, honest and generous man whose priorities always were faith, family, and friends. He logged countless volunteer hours for many causes. He was a long-time apheresis donor for the American Red Cross, donating platelets every few weeks to those who needed life-saving transfusions and eventually reaching the 42-gallon mark in donations (336 visits). Beginning in 1993, he and MaryLou attended the National Right to Life Convention every year, where he served as convention photographer. He was deeply devoted to reverencing life at all stages and was rarely without his “precious feet” pin on his shirt collar or lapel. In 2004 he and MaryLou founded St. John Vianney Society, an organization dedicated to promoting vocations to the Catholic priesthood.
Bill is survived by MaryLou and his four children: Michelle (Jay) Wonacott, Teresa (Joe) Harper, Michael (Greta) Molitor, and Mark Molitor. He leaves behind seven grandchildren: Mary, Cathleen, Lucy, Teresa and EmmaRose Wonacott, and Ava and August Molitor. He is also survived by his four siblings: Kathleen (Dan) Kaopuiki, Tom (Susie) Molitor, Molly (George) Arrossa, and Dave (MaryKay) Molitor.
Vigil services will be on Wednesday, February 7, at 7:00 p.m., and funeral Mass will be on Thursday, February 8, at 10:00 a.m., both at St. John’s Cathedral in Boise. Graveside services at Morris Hill Cemetery will immediately follow the Mass. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. John Vianney Society, PO Box 81, Boise ID 83701, for a memorial scholarship fund for seminarians.