Dr. Michael Choate Molleston |

Dr. Michael Choate Molleston, 59, of Hattiesburg passed away at home on May 28, 2019 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday, May 31, at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Laurel.

Dr. Molleston was a skilled neurosurgeon with a wonderful bedside manner. He had a particular talent for providing information to his patients and their families in a friendly, clear and understandable manner. He was a fearless advocate for his patients, both in and out of the hospital, making sure they received the help they needed even after their surgery was complete.

Dr. Molleston was born in Newport, Ark., in 1960. A middle child, he worked hard from a young age to achieve the excellence he pursued throughout his life. During high school, his work as a radio announcer allowed him to start the acquisition of the classic automobiles that he enjoyed so much.

After moving to Hattiesburg, Dr. Molleston became heavily involved with the sports programs at the University of Southern Mississippi, serving as team physician for more than 20 years. He and his wife Shelley have been avid sports fans from high school to professional, mentoring several ballplayers and endowing golf scholarships at USM. Shelley and Mike were also members of the USM Circle of Champions. Dr. Molleston enjoyed hunting and fishing, especially fishing in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Dr. Molleston graduated as valedictorian from Newport High School. He was active in Boy Scouts of America, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. He also graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with University Honors, and the Washington University School of Medicine. He received his neurosurgery training at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, where he served as chief resident and completed a fellowship in pediatric neurosurgery at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.

Dr. Molleston practiced neurosurgery in Miami, Hattiesburg, Jackson and Denison, Texas.

Dr. Molleston was preceded in death by his parents Jerald Grimes Molleston Sr. and Sally Choate Molleston; his brother Robert Parker Molleston; and grandparents Max E. Molleston, Helen Grimes Molleston, Thomas H. Choate Sr. and Bertha Chanitz Choate.

He is survived by his wife, Shelley Sellers Molleston; his children Dr. Jerome Michael Molleston (Dr. Eva Klinman), Elizabeth Helen Molleston, McKenlie Jade Graham and Chanitz Grimes Molleston; and his brothers Jerald Grimes Molleston Jr. (Margaret) and Jeffrey Thomas Molleston (Jennifer).

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rbHAnZyrZZOWua16wqikaJyiYrqqr8eanKVlk528osDEZqSopJyawLW7zWiYq6yZmLmmq8Kea3FwY2iBboSRnplmaWGahm6ulHKYZpySZ3%2Bmf8FwnGmbZGO1tbnL