William Francis Molloy's Obituary
Molloy, William
12/14/1923 ~ 12/22/2014
William (Bill) Molloy was born in Peoria, Illinois in 1923. He was the youngest of 3 boys born to Cora and James Molloy. He died peacefully in his beloved San Diego. He was preceded in death by his wife Lucile, brothers, mother and father. He is survived by his son Michael, his two grandchildren, one great grandchild, his longtime companion Marjorie Maguire, his niece Corinne Biersdorf, and his nephews Gerald and Paul Molloy.
Bill served in Army Air Corps during World War II and loved to fly. He had soloed before entering the air corps and continued to fly until the 1970s. He attended Bradley University where he received a BS degree in Mechanical and Industrial engineering. He met his future wife, Lucile, in Peoria at the airport where they both were flying.
Bill started his engineering career at Smith, Hinchman & Grylls architectural firm in Detroit. His work on large construction projects caught the attention of Ford Motor Company, who hired him to manage several large building projects. His focus on the construction of research facilities allowed him to move to Argonne National Labs, where he advanced from a senior engineer working on nuclear reactors to become plant manager. Having always preferred the weather in California where he was once stationed during the war, he accepted the position of assistant vice-chancellor at UCLA in 1976. His work with the UCLA hospitals allowed him to land the position of Director of Plant operations at the Salk Institute in San Diego, from which he retired in 1988.
He always enjoyed golf and stage performances. He loved to travel and racked up nearly 500 days on cruise ships after his retirement. Travel and organizing trips to exotic locations became his passion for the next decades of his life. His last trip was to Hawaii so he could celebrate his 90th birthday aboard ship just as he had done with his 80th birthday.
A memorial service is schedule for 10am on January 10th, 2015 at the Clairemont Mortuary, 4266 Mt. Abernathy Ave, San Diego, CA 92117. The funeral and internment will be held in Peoria, IL at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the American Heart Association, the Salk Institute or your favorite charity.
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