Bill Stoller, the acclaimed founder of Stoller Wine Group, died Wednesday, according to his company. No cause of death was given.
He was 74.
Stoller, who grew up in Yamhill County, launched the wine group in Oregon’s Willamette Valley in 1993 and was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Oregon Wine Board association and the prestigious Diploma of Honor from the Fédération Internationale des Confréries Bachiques, or International Federation of Wine Brotherhoods.
But he was also distinguished by his humility and kindness, said Gary Mortensen, president of Stoller Wine Group.
“Bill believed in doing well by doing well by others,” Mortensen said.
Stoller was also an entrepreneur in other fields.
Stoller co-founded Express Employment International in 1983, a staffing company that now has hundreds of franchise locations worldwide.
Stoller also purchased the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, near his hometown of Dayton, in 2020.
“Growing up in a small rural community, I have a deep desire to further the economic vitality of my hometown so that future generations have opportunities to thrive,” he told The Oregonian/OregonLive then.
— Quinton Prudhomme is a reporter on the public safety and breaking news team. Reach him at 503-221-8002 or qprudhomme@oregonian.com.
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