Jane Carla Volpentest was born on May Day 1937, the second of three children born to Sam and Emily (nee Orcutt) Volpentest in Seattle, Washington. Her early childhood was spent amongst her Italian-American relatives in then-mostly Scandinavian Ballard.
The family moved to the Tri-Cities, WA during the Hanford boom of the early 1950s. It was there at Richland Highschool where Jane met and started dating her future husband, Robert (Bob) Mollerus at age 16. Jane graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Gonzaga University in 1959. Decades later she earned a Bachelor’s in Mathematics from Portland State University and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Marylhurst.
After her Gonzaga graduation, Jane and Bob were married, and then lived in several cities (including Milwaukee, Pensacola, Great Lakes and Bremerton) while Bob finished medical training and served in the US Navy. They managed to have three children during that busy time – Therese, Joseph and Anne-Marie. Jane moved back to the Tri-Cities with little ones in tow to be closer to extended family, while her husband Bob served abroad as a surgeon in Vietnam.
Once out of the Navy in the early 1970’s, the family settled in Vancouver, Washington. Jane lived in the same historic house off Lieser Rd, her pride and joy, for over 50 years. She miraculously survived a fall in that home during Covid, and then needed to move away for long-term care. She did this with the help of her daughter Therese in Seattle, who remained close by for her continued care until Jane’s passing.
Jane valued formal education (as well as self study on a variety of topics), her Catholic faith, music and art. She was an avid reader and a talented pianist. She loved painting, antique-ing, gardening and making jewelry as hobbies. She attended mass daily for many years at St Joseph’s in Vancouver, until physically no longer able.
After a brief bout with the flu and its complications, Jane went home to Jesus on Friday, October 23, 2026.
Several of her loved ones passed in the years before her, including her parents Emily and Sam, older brother Bill, former husband Bob, former son-in-law Alan, advisor Fr Joe Conwell SJ, and her close Vancouver friends Joan, Nancy and Joanne.
Jane is survived by her younger brother Sam (Mary) Volpentest; sister-in-law Betty Volpentest; children Therese (Larry) Gale, Joseph (Catherine) Mollerus and Anne-Marie (Michael) Davis; grandchildren Allyson Gale, David Fjeld, Bryan (Bailey) Fjeld and Joseph (Juniper) Fjeld; friend Guilda Zokaeem; and several nieces and nephews in WA, CA and AZ.
While Jane preferred to keep to herself, she was deeply spiritual, and meaningfully touched the lives of those to whom she opened up and loved. Her heart had a tender beauty that will be missed by her surviving loved ones.
Upcoming services:
Funeral mass at St James Cathedral (Seattle) 10:30am Nov 12, 2026. Burial to follow at Holyrood Cemetery (Shoreline) 12:30pm Nov 12, 2026.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jane’s name to , or Southwest Washington Humane Society.