John H. Molstad
John H. Molstad, 86, of La Crosse, passed away April 10, 2025, with his wife by his side, at Bethany St. Joseph Nursing Home, after a long illness.
John was born April 19, 1938, to Selmer and Gertrude Molstad in Galesville. He lost his mother shortly after his birth. John lived with relatives until the age of seven at which time he came to live with Bessie and Elton Tjerstad on their farm in the North Beaver Creek area in Ettrick. They were then blessed with two more children, David and Bette. John always felt very fortunate to be a part of the Tjerstad family.
John entered the U.S. Army in November of 1957, and was given an honorable discharge in June, 1960. In 1961, he married Jacqueline Fioravanti and they had three sons: Mark, Kevin, and Jeffrey. They later divorced. Prior to moving to the La Crosse area, he and his family lived in Fond du Lac and Kenosha for five years.
John started his insurance career in 1967, working for an insurance company in the La Crosse area. By 1968, he became the owner of Central Insurance Agency. This company then grew into American Benefit, Ltd. and Mountain Agency Insurance for 48 years. In addition to his main office in La Crosse, he had offices located in Montana, Iowa, and Minnesota. His many agents sold insurance to the Senior market. At the time of his retirement in 2015, John sold his business to another insurance group who is still actively marketing many of the same products.
His sales agents and office staff were very much like an extended family to him. Those many friendships were very important to him through the years.
John married Barbara Nichols in August, 2007, after spending many wonderful years together prior to their marriage. They enjoyed traveling to many different areas in the U.S., Europe, and the Caribbean during these years
John is survived by his wife, Barbara; sons: Mark (Sue) and Kevin and their mother. He is also survived by his sister, Bette Rod (David); sisters-in-law: Mary Tjerstad (David), Nancy Molstad (Merlin); sisters and brothers-in-law: Janelle and Robert Wood, Paul Nichols (Liz Tischer), Jay Nichols (Janell) and Brian Nichols (Beth); in addition, many cousins, nieces and great nieces, nephews and great nephews.
John was preceded in death by his son, Jeffrey; brother, David Tjerstad; his parents, Selmer and Gertrude Molstad; and foster parents, Bessie and Elton Tjerstad; his six siblings and their spouses: Lorene Thompson (Orville), Beverly Erickson (Harold/Ted), Dolores Gallup (William) Gertrude (Trudy) O’Donnell (Jim), Tillman (Tim) Molstad (Kate) and Merlin Molstad; father and mother-in-law, Floyd and Gladys Nichols; brother-in-law, Curtis Behrens; sister-in-law, Kathy Nichols; nephew, Craig Molstad; and niece, Jane Thompson.
Services will be held Thursday, April 24, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., with visitation from 9:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., at North Beaver Creek Lutheran Church (red brick), W11383 Co. Rd. C, Ettrick.
Burial will be at the Mormon Coulee Memorial Cemetery, N1137 Bloomer Mill Rd., La Crosse, at 3:00 p.m., where John will be laid to rest next to his son, Jeffrey.
The family would like to thank the staff at Bethany St. Joseph Nursing Home for their wonderful and compassionate care given to John during these past four years.
Memorials may be given to St. Joseph Nursing Home or the Gundersen Foundation-Cardiology.
