Entrepreneur, wine enthusiast Bill Stoller dies

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Dayton native William “Bill” Stoller, founder of Stoller Family Estate winery and co-founder of Express Employment International, died in his sleep Wednesday, April 23. He was 74.

“Bill was a visionary who tirelessly championed, inspired and elevated the Oregon wine industry’s standing,” said Michelle Kaufmann, communications director for the Stoller Wine Group. “His ethos of authenticity, accessibility, and reverence for the land guided his 200-year vision through innovation, sustainable viticulture, and community building.”

Stoller also founded the Stoller Wine Group’s McMinnville Properties, which owns the Evergreen museum campus and event business in McMinnville.
His company stepped in to buy part of the Evergreen property in 2020 and the rest in 2021, becoming landlord to the nonprofit museum and giving the entire campus the stable foundation it had struggled without for years, including bankruptcies by previous owners.

The museum property and other endeavors of McMinnville Properties, including the Dayton Merchant Block retail and lodging venue that’s about to open, will not be negatively affected, said Dave Rucklos, economic development director for Dayton. 

Rucklos said Stoller thought ahead, setting up his companies with a trust run by a board of directors that will lead them into the future.
The winery and employment agency also will continue, despite the loss of their founder.

“He would want us to continue pushing forward, making world-class wines, delivering welcoming hospitality and realizing his dream,” said Gary Mortensen, president of Stoller Wine Group. 

“Bill was more than a remarkable entrepreneur,” Mortensen said. “He was a generous mentor, a steadfast friend and a passionate advocate for connecting people with opportunity.” 

Stoller grew up on his family’s farm near Dayton. After graduating from high school, he played collegiate basketball at Lower Columbia College, Warner Pacific University and finally Pacific University, where he earned a degree in business and economics. He went on to receive a master’s degree in business from Portland State University. 

He co-founded Express Employment Professionals in 1983. With more than 800 offices in three countries, the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, company is now the largest privately-owned staffing firm in the world.

According to the press release, the company funeral arrangements and opportunities for remembrance will be communicated in the coming days.
In addition to being CEO and chairman of Express, in 2001 he founded Xenium, a human resources company.

He said his business success gave him the opportunity to start his winery and be a good steward of the earth.

Kaufmann, of the Stoller Wine Group, said Stoller was a pioneer in sustainable viticulture. As a leader in the wine industry, he had received a lifetime achievement award from the Oregon Wine Board and the Diploma of Honor from the Fédération Internationale des Confréries Bachiques.