John Molle, RIP
Today I heard from several old high school friends that John Molle, the youngest member of my high school basketball team in 1988-89, was murdered on April 1st. John’s funeral was yesterday, April 7th.
John Joseph Molle Jr., 32, of Santa Ana, a field supervisor, died April 1, 2005. Visitation: 3-9 p.m. today, Funeraria del Angel MacDougall Family Mortuary, Santa Ana. Services: 9 a.m. Thursday, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Santa Ana. Burial service: 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Holy Sepulcher Cemetery, Orange.
Parents, John, Librada; son, Miguel; brothers, Raphael, Andy.
SANTA ANA — A man who suffered a gunshot wound in his head was found dead in Windsor Park on Friday, police said.
The victim’s name was not known, Gonsalves said.
Investigators believe that the shooting occurred during “early morning hours.” Investigators found no witnesses to the shooting.
The park is in the 2900 block of La Verne Avenue.
Anyone with information is asked to call investigators Mark Steen or Dean Fulcher at (714) 245-8355.
John Joseph Molle, [32], of Santa Ana, was found Friday morning in Windsor Park, dead of a gunshot wound to the head. His body was spotted by a passerby who called for paramedics. The paramedics discovered the gunshot wound. The park is in the 2900 block of La Verne Avenue.
Honolulu Advertiser, April 9, 2005:
Former University of Hawai’i basketball player John Molle Jr. was remembered as a tough competitor who was trying to improve his life.
“He was a nice guy who didn’t get a lot of breaks,” said UH associate coach Jackson Wheeler, who recruited Molle to UH in 1992.
Molle, 33, was killed April 1 in Santa Ana, Calif., after he sought the people who stole his car. He died from a gunshot wound to the head. No suspect has been arrested.
“I talked to him a week and a half ago,” Wheeler said. “He seemed fine. He seemed in good spirits. I talked to him quite often. He always had a good place in my heart. This is really sad.”
Molle attended San Diego State and Saddleback Community College before signing with the Warriors. As a 6 foot-4 senior, he helped the Warriors win the 1994 Western Athletic Conference Tournament and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Molle was a skilled outside shooter who also played power forward.
“He certainly wasn’t a power forward, but he was that versatile,” former Saddleback coach Bill Brummel said.
Molle’s life spiraled soon after leaving UH. He spent a few years in prison after being convicted of a car-jacking. In prison, Molle became a Christian.
“He turned his life around,” UH coach Riley Wallace said. “I’ve always thought good of John, and I always will. He was a tough and hard-nosed kid, but he was always good around me.”
Brummel said Molle’s aggressive style invoked taunts from opposing fans. But Brummel also remembered how Molle was a popular figure during a UH camp in 1993.
“He had a magnetic personality for young kids,” Brummel said. “The kids just loved him. They followed him around, like he was the Pied Piper. To see the connection he had with kids … that was an enjoyable memory.”
John,
Last year I got a letter filling in some details of your life after high school, none of which were good. My only reply was to hope that you would someday turn your life around, learn from your hardships and bad choices and come out the better for your experience. I never wrote about it, hoping for the day you’d to slip out of your past and into a new future. It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
For your parents, your brothers, your son, I’m heartbroken. I have no words except to hope they can find solace in memories of happier times.
Today, because of your death, I’ve heard from many people I haven’t talked to in more than 15 years. I’m holding onto the small glimmer of light in that. I wish any of us could have done something more for you. May you finally find some peace.
