Mary Rose Molina, the matriarch of the Long Beach family who helped found Molina Healthcare in the 1980s, died peacefully in her sleep early Thursfday morning. She was 83 years old.
Molina was born in Port Angeles, Washington on July 7, 1929 and was raised in Escondido, California. According to her daughter Dr. Martha Molina Bernadett, her mother skipped two grades and graduated high school at age 16. She graduated from San Diego State with a degree in education and taught kindergarten and first grade in both San Diego and Long Beach.
She married C. David Molina, an emergency room doctor, and soon left teaching to devote herself to raising a family. In the 1980s, Molina helped her husband start the company that is today Molina Healthcare. For many years, she was responsible for the Child Health and Disability Prevention program for the company and was active in PTAs at her childrens’ schools.
She is survived by her two sons—Dr. J. Mario Molina and John Molina, currently CEO and CFO of Molina Healthcare, respectively—three daughters and 15 grandchildren.
“She lived by the motto, ‘Say little, do much.'” daughter Dr. Martha Molina Bernadett said in a statement on the Molina Foundation’s website. “She did so much for so many, not the least of which was to instill the values of the importance of family, education and service to others in my siblings and me. I thank you for your help in preserving her legacy.”