John B. Mollett, travel agent

John B. Mollett, founder of the Cruise Only Travel Agency who also led culinary tours of Europe, died Wednesday of chronic cholecystitis, an inflammation of the gallbladder, at Stella Maris Hospice.

The longtime Towson resident was 70.

The son of John Pense Mollett, an insurance salesman, and Phyllis Burch Mollett, who established Mollett Travel in Cross Keys, John Burch Mollett was born in Baltimore and raised on Lafayette Avenue in Bolton Hill and later on Wickford Road in Roland Park.

Mr. Mollett attended Charlotte Hall Military Academy in Southern Maryland and graduated in 1966 from Stowe Academy in Stowe, Vt. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1970 from the University of Arizona.

His mother had established Burch Travel at 3900 N. Charles St., where he worked for five years before starting his own specialty cruise business, the Cruise Only Travel Agency, in 1978 on Chesapeake Avenue in Towson.

After selling the business in 1985 to an employee, he lived in Tucson, Ariz., and Vail, Colo., for 17 years before returning to Towson.

“He loved to ski and loved Arizona and Colorado,” said his brother, Richard Charles Mollett of Taneytown.

He was a longtime member of the Maryland Food & Wine Society and would organize large culinary group tours that traveled to Europe to explore the culture and food of various regions.

“He was a fantastic gourmet cook and could cook any kind of food, and when he was finished, he had used every pot and pan in his kitchen,” his brother said.

Plans for a memorial service to be held at his brother’s Taneytown farm at the end of September are incomplete.

In addition to his brother, he is survived by a son, John Borges Mollett of Delhi, N.Y.; and two nephews. His marriage to the former Ann Borges ended in divorce.