Final Salute

Robert Louis Molla, Jr., age 89, died peacefully on Thursday, December 21, 2023 at his home on the North River in Norwell. Born in South Weymouth on June 21,1934, Bob, or Bobby to his family, was a Norwell resident for his entire life.

Bob graduated from Weymouth High School in 1952 and from Boston State College in 1974 with a degree in Law Enforcement. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1952 until 1954 when he joined the U.S. Navy as a Seabee. During his time in the Navy, he was stationed around the world, including in California, Maryland, Antigua, Northern Ireland, New Zealand, and Greenland. He was especially proud of his Navy service in the Antarctic during 1956 and 1957 as part of Operation Deep Freeze II in support of research for the International Geophysical Year.

After leaving the Navy, Bob became a trooper with the Massachusetts State Police, later working in the Legal department of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles in Boston and on Martha’s Vineyard. During his time with the RMV, he investigated the death of Mary Jo Kopechne on Chappaquiddick. He subsequently served as a special agent with the U.S. Department of Transportation overseeing the New England region. His expertise was in the transportation of nuclear and other hazardous materials. He retired from Federal service in 2001.

Bob married his lifelong love Frances Schofield on September 17, 1960, and they settled on Prospect Street in Norwell to raise their three children close to his large, extended Italian family tending to the family’s farmland, woodlands, and greenhouses. Bob and Fran also had homes on Saquish, in Vineyard Haven on the Lagoon, and they later built a log cabin in Brownfield ME on the Saco River. When they retired, Bob and Fran designed and built their dream home on the North River on land that they had inherited from Bob’s beloved uncle Nay and aunt Ada.

Bob was an avid outdoorsman, and he loved to ski, canoe, hunt, fish, lobster, crab, quahog, and scallop locally, on the Vineyard, and in Maine. He was a natural green thumb and spent hours caring for his gardens and then cooking, preserving, or sharing the bounty with family. Bob dedicated many hours to community service for the Town of Norwell, serving as a volunteer firefighter and in elected positions for many decades on the Board of Water Commissioners, the North River Commission, and the South Shore Regional Vocational Technical School Committee. He was a communicant of St. Helen’s Roman Catholic church.

Bob was predeceased by his parents, Robert Louis Molla, Sr. and Carmella (DeFabio) Molla, his sisters Rosemarie Shortall, Marie C. Molla, and Carol Ann Van Horn. He leaves behind his wife of 63 years Frances (Schofield) Molla of Norwell; his loyal dog Christy; his children Robert Louis Molla, III (James Mandrell) of Duxbury, Michael Raymond Molla of Mount Joy PA, and Susan Molla Kent of Halifax; his grandchildren Katelyn Savoie of Middleborough, Rachael Shea Kent (Richard A. Uronis) of Bourne, Louis Ames Kent of Halifax, two great grandchildren Laurent Savoie, Jr. and Ella Savoie both of Middleborough; his brother Francis N. Molla and sisters Joanne M. Goldman (Henry) and Catherine M. Molla all of Norwell, Carmella “Sally” M. Osgood of Palm Bay FL, Nancy Catton of Rockland, and Mary C. Osborne (Steven) of Hanson.

Visiting hours are on Wednesday, December 27 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Sullivan Funeral Homes, 551 Washington Street, Rte 53, Hanover. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, December 28 at 9:00 at Our Lady of the Angels Parish – St Mary’s, 392 Hanover Street, Rte 139, Hanover. Burial to follow at Washington Street Cemetery in Norwell.

Flowers are welcome, or the family encourages donations in memory of Robert Molla to the Norwell Historical Society, P.O. Box 693, Norwell MA 02061, or to the South Shore Vocational Technical High School, ℅ Dr. Thomas Hickey, 476 Webster Street, Hanover MA 02339.