Whatever
Happened...
Question: What ever happened to William "Bill" Mottz, a former Honolulu Juvenile Court referee? Family Court ref
‘Bill’ Mottz died
in 1983Answer: Mottz died in 1983 due to heart complications, according to his son, Peter.
Mottz, 74 at the time of his death, was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Pupukea area.
His health began to decline after a major heart attack when he was 49. More than a dozen minor heart attacks came in the years that followed, his son said.
Mottz, who joined the old Juvenile Court in 1954, retired as a Family Court referee in 1969. As a referee he handled law violations by juveniles as well as adoption, guardianship, consent-to-marry and probation issues.
In a 1969 Star-Bulletin story, Mottz said his basic child psychology theory was to "physically chastise a child reasonably and as often as is necessary. I believe in punishment done from early childhood and not in anger. A child must know what he is being punished for."
Mottz, a Missouri native, came to Hawaii in 1936 and earned a degree in sociology from the University of Hawaii.
He was a counselor at the Waialee Training School for Boys on Oahu for 3 years before becoming personnel director for Waiakea Mill Co. in Hilo.
From 1946 until he joined Juvenile Court, Mottz served as deputy warden of the former Oahu Prison.
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