Molly Wolveck, Mother of ‘Young and the Restless’ Star Kate Linder, Dies at 98

Molly Wolveck, who appeared on two episodes of The Young and the Restless thanks to her daughter, Kate Linder, who has portrayed Esther Valentine on the CBS soap opera for more than 40 years, has died. She was 98.

Wolveck died Thursday at her home in Arcadia, a family spokesperson announced.

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After watching Y&R from the start in 1973, Wolveck was obviously delighted when Linder joined the daytime drama in 1982. She and her late husband, Ralph, then made it on the show as restaurant patrons while they celebrated a real-life 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).

An only child, Wolveck was born on Nov. 20, 1924, in Los Angeles and raised in Pasadena. Her father, Henry, owned a dry-cleaning store.

When she was 16, she met her future husband on a trip to Lake Gregory in Crestline, California, and they married three years later on March 21, 1943. The couple worked together at a Market Basket grocery store, and when he landed a job as a theater usher, she went to see a movie every day to spend more time with him.

Wolveck was instrumental in helping Ralph start his CPA firm and run it. The couple eventually settled in Arcadia and were married for 70 years until he died in 2013. (She was still running the business at the time of her death.)

Wolveck was an avid theatregoer, philanthropist, patron of the arts and Los Angeles Dodgers season-ticket holder who played tennis into her 90s.

In addition to her daughter, 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.

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