Bradley Molstad

Bradley Molstad, age 69, of Hudson, WI, passed away peacefully on August 31st, 2024, surrounded by his family.

Brad was born to Robert and Lenore (Schouten) Molstad. He grew up in Glen Lake, MN, and attended Hopkins-Lindbergh High School. After high school, Brad attended the University of Minnesota where he majored in Theater. During high school and college, he worked as a caddy, as a lawn mower, at McDonald's, at Johnson Nut Co, and performed in numerous plays.

While acting for a traveling theater company (as Papa Bear in "Goldilocks"), Brad heard computer programming was "an easy way to make money". He attended Brown Institute and eventually got a job at St. Paul Companies (which later became Travelers Insurance) in 1982. He spent 30 years at Travelers, working his way from entry-level programmer to Vice President of Information Technology. In addition to his incredible work ethic, Brad always brought levity to the office. Once, in a hot dog eating contest in front of his coworkers, he surprised everyone by spending the first few minutes setting up candles in a sterling candlestick, pouring himself a glass of champagne, playing classical music on a portable speaker, and slowly eating the hot dogs with silverware. He took last place, but got the most laughs.

At Travelers, Brad met Mary Japs, who he married in 1986. Brad and Mary moved from Roseville to Stillwater in 1995, where they raised their two sons. His family was his world, and he never shied away from expressing his unconditional love for his wife and boys. He sobbed ten seconds into his speech at his son's wedding rehearsal.

In 2009, Brad was diagnosed with Inclusion Body Myositis, a rare disease that causes progressive muscle weakness. After the disease forced him to retire from Travelers, he spent his time volunteering at Adult Basic Education in Stillwater, and he and Mary led a support group for those with myositis in Minnesota.

Brad's true passion was the arts. He had wide-ranging and eclectic tastes in film, literature, and above all, music. Throughout his life, he loved discovering new music, adding to his extensive CD/record collection, and creating playlists for friends, family, and special occasions (or any occasion, really). He always said "you have to listen to an album at least three times before deciding whether you like it". His ideal day was spent scouring local record stores for rare and out-of-print albums (or albums he didn't have, or albums he did have and forgot about). Nothing made him happier than sharing his latest discoveries with those he loved. In recent years, he also enjoyed searching for and collecting paintings by a local artist, watching movies from the Criterion Collection, and reading.

Brad will be remembered for his quick wit, his irreverent, sarcastic, and self-deprecating sense of humor, and his occasional flair for the dramatic. At 6'6", he literally stood out in any crowd. He was an incredible listener, deeply empathetic, and totally selfless. As his disease progressed, Brad's grace and enduring ability to find joy and humor in every day was inspirational to anyone who met him.

Brad was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Lenore Molstad. Brad is survived by his wife, Mary Japs, his sons Aaron (Elizabeth Harder) and Nathan (Allyson Azar) Molstad, his sister Mindy (Brian) Weinreis, in-laws Russ (Bonnie) and Steve (Lynn) Japs, and many nieces and nephews.

A service celebrating Brad will take place at Bradshaw Funeral Home, 2800 Curve Crest Blvd. on Sunday, September 15th at 2p.m. with a visitation an hour prior.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Brad's memory to the Myositis Association (https://www.myositis.org/donate/) or to Myositis Support and Understanding (https://secure.givelively.org/donate/myositis).