Elkin Bjarne Johansen Moltu, 90, passed away on January 5, 2005 at Hugh Chatham Nursing Center in Elkin. He was born November 27, 1914 in Moltustranda, Norway, the son of Petra and Johan Moltu, eldest of five children. In 1936, he graduated from the Alesund Maritime Academy and sailed on merchant vessels. In 1940 he escaped Nazi-occupied Norway and joined "The Resistance" first piloting Allied vessels around Iceland and later joining an American Liberty Ship, participating in the final successful convoy to Murmansk and Archangel, Russia as well as missions in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific. He married Gerda Skaar in Brooklyn, New York in 1944, became an American citizen in 1947, and subsequently established residency in Griggstown, New Jersey. He sailed with the American merchant marine most of his career transporting oil from Texas to ports along the Eastern Seaboard. While sailing as captain of the "Hess Diesel" in 1963 near the Florida Keys, he rescued 44 Cuban refugees adrift in a small boat, the first of the wave of Cubans seeking asylum in the United States. In 1967-1968 he sailed with the United States Military Sea Transport Service to Vietnam. In 1978, he retired from the Hess Oil Company as captain of their supertanker "Hess Voyager," the fleet's flagship vessel. He was a member of the Masters, Mates and Pilots Association, the New York Marine Society, the American Council of Master Mariners, and the Norwegian-American WWII Veterans. He resided in Elkin for the past 10 years and was a member of the Elkin Presbyterian Church. Surviving are three daughters and sons-in-laws: Marilyn and Ivan Weinberg of Mill Valley, California; Ann and Ron Ashman of Elkin; and Clare and Larry Williams of Terrace Park, Ohio. Also surviving are eight grandsons and one granddaughter as well as many nieces and nephews in Norway. A memorial service will be held at the Elkin Presbyterian Church on Saturday January 8, 2005 at 10 a.m. by Rev. Brian Rummage. A graveside service will be held in Griggstown, New Jersey on Sunday morning. Memorials may be made to the Elkin Presbyterian Church or the Hugh Chatham Hospital Foundation. Online condolences may be made to www.hodgesfuneralhomeinc.com Hodges Funeral Home in Elkin is serving the Moltu family.
