Molly Wolveck, who appeared in two episodes of The young and the restless Thanks to her daughter, Kate Linder, who played Esther Valentine on the CBS soap for over 40 years, has passed away. She turned 98.
Wolveck died at her home in Arcadia on Thursday, a family spokesperson announced.
Check J&R from its inception in 1973, Wolveck was clearly delighted when Linder joined the daytime drama in 1982. She and her late husband, Ralph, then made it onto the show as restaurant patrons while celebrating an actual wedding anniversary.
In 2017, she returned for another episode to have lunch with Suzanne Lloyd Bregman (the mother of Tracey Bregman, who plays Lauren Fenmore on the soap) and Marla Adams (as Dina Abbott).
Wolveck, an only child, was born on November 20, 1924 in Los Angeles and grew up in Pasadena. Her father, Henry, owned a dry cleaner.
When she was 16, she met her future husband on a trip to Lake Gregory in Crestline, California, and they were married three years later on March 21, 1943. The couple worked together in a Market Basket supermarket, and when he got a job as theater messenger, she went to the movies every day to spend more time with him.
Wolveck was instrumental in helping Ralph start and run his CPA business. The couple eventually settled in Arcadia and were married for 70 years until he passed away in 2013. (She was still running the business at the time of her death.)
Wolveck was an avid theatergoer, philanthropist, patron of the arts, and Los Angeles Dodgers season ticket holder who played tennis into his nineties.
In addition to her daughter, the survivors include her son, Randy, and his wife, Gina; seven grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Donations can be made to the Molly Wolveck Memorial Fund at the Lupus Foundation of America.
