Mark Molldrem Remembered

(Beaver Dam) A religious leader is being remembered for his impact in Dodge County and around the world. The Reverend Dr. Mark Molldrem, who retired from the First Lutheran Church in Beaver Dam five years ago, passed away on Friday. Molldrem first came to Beaver Dam in the early 1980s and was instrumental in establishing Dodge County’s domestic violence shelter PAVE, People Against A Violent Environment. It was around that time he befriended Bev Anderson, and the two worked to bring a Romanian family fleeing political persecution to America from a refugee camp in Italy. She says that family remains contributing members of the Beaver Dam community. Anderson notes that his world outreach continued with a longtime partnership with Liberia, Western Africa.

Molldrem served as pastor of six churches and four parishes over nearly four decades, returning to Beaver Dam in 2004. He was a volunteer with Church Health Services and Downtown Beaver Dam Inc. He also belonged to the Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce and helped develop their Leadership Beaver Dam program. Chamber President Phil Fritsche says Molldrem was a leader who made Beaver Dam a better community.

Molldrem was also an author, writing several articles for magazines and journals, sermon guides and two books. He was also no stranger to WBEV, writing and recording daily inspirational messages in a long-running segment called “Joy in the Morning.” He appeared on Community Comment around this time last year, shortly before he was sidelined with medical problems, to promote his book “Random Acts of Writing.”

Mark Molldrem was the first-ever guest that Craig Warmbold interviewed on WBEV’s Community Comment in March of 2006. Molldrem brought with him a friend from Saginaw, Michigan named Bob Heft, who designed the 50-star American flag. Listen to the interview here:

 

Rev. Dr. Mark J. Molldrem