Irwin Molasky

Irwin Molasky was born to a Jewish family on February 22, 1927 in St. Louis, Missouri. Molasky moved with his family to Dayton, Ohio. He served in the United States Military after World War II. His father ran an Ohio newspaper distribution business and managed several apartments. Molasky went to a military high school and attended college and worked during summers as a teenager. He attended Ohio State University and transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), but did not graduate from either institution. Instead, he worked his way up in construction.

Molasky was married to Pepie (Bookbinder) Molasky. He then married Susan (Frey) Molasky. He has three sons and a daughter, all of whom work at The Molasky Group of Companies.

In 1998, Irwin & Susan Molasky Junior High School, a middle school in Las Vegas, opened in his and his second wife’s honor.

Molasky died of natural causes on July 4, 2020, at the age of 93.

Molasky was a key figure in the development of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas through a donation of 45 acres (18 ha) of prime land at Flamingo Road and Maryland Parkway. He also served as the Founding Chairman of the UNLV Foundation, the fundraising arm of the university.

Molasky served on the board of directors of Project REAL, a non-profit organization that teaches "principles of democracy, law and the responsibilities of citizenship" to schoolchildren in Las Vegas.

The Molasky Junior High School in Las Vegas is named in his honor. Molasky was one of the founders of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas.