Get to know the Judge

By Josh Eiserike

Published: May 15, 2008

Robert Molinari hopes he can teach some of the youth at the Judge Patrick D. Molinari Juvenile Shelter in Manassas about his brother, the shelter’s namesake. Patrick Molinari, the chief of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Manassas, died from lung cancer in 1998.

“At this point in time, 10 years later… the kids don’t know who it is,” Molinari said. “I hope they would understand a little bit more about the person.“

Molinari, 64, of Oswego, N.Y., will visit the shelter on Friday. He will be reading from his new book “Joyce’s Ark: On Its Journey to the Rainbow Bridge.” The book is about his wife Joyce’s love of animals and God. On Saturday he will be signing at Borders in Manassas.

Terri Stott is the director of the residential services division in Prince William County. The division is under the Department of Social Services. As part of her job, Stott oversees the shelter.
“He’s going to be sharing with our kids just how the judge worked with juvenile issues,” Stott said. “The facility was named after [Patrick Molinari] because he really worked with a lot of juve-
niles. I hope they understand that there are folks out there trying to help them … that there’s a larger system out there, trying to help them get back on track in their lives.“
“Joyce’s Ark” includes anecdotes about Patrick Molinari.

“It would make him embarrassed, publicly, to have a building named after him,” Molinari said. “Privately he would have been proud. He was a private person and he took being a judge seri-ously… He was an important part of my life.“

He’s also in the book.

“There’s a whole chapter devoted to him called ’Here Comes the Judge’,” said Molinari, who is retired from development and public relations in the non-profit sector, said.
One anecdote involved his brother coming up to help put plywood siding in the barn to prevent the horses from snacking on the exposed wood. They had exactly enough nails to do the job. Molinari explained to his brother how to do it; Patrick Molinari said it was no problem.

He sent the first nail flying. The Molinaris spent 20 minutes on their hands and knees in the barn, searching for the missing nail. Twenty minutes later when they found it, Patrick Molinari sent another nail flying; two or three nails later the brothers gave up and went to visit their mom instead.

“It’s an interesting, feel-good book,” Molinari said.

“Joyce’s Ark” was inspired by all of the animals Molinari and his wife cared for over the years. In the 35 years they’ve been married, the Molinaris have taken in over 75 animals, mostly horses, dogs and cats, but also sheep, goats, ducks rabbits and a turkey.

“It’s humorous and sad at times,” Robert Molinari said of his new book, adding that the sad parts are when animals are “put down.”

He added that he sent copies to famous animal lovers all over the country. Betty White from “The Golden Girls” sent him an encouraging letter.

Staff writer Josh Eiserike can be reached at 703-878-8072.