Dina’s (Marla Adams) passing on The Young and the Restless was as tragic as it was inevitable given that she was diagnosed with the degenerative illness Alzheimer’s disease. Now her daughter, Traci (Beth Maitland), is poised to be the glue that holds the Abbott clan together.
As viewers were reminded in classic re-airings of Y&R over the summer, Dina had walked out on her husband, John (Jerry Douglas), and children, Jack (Peter Bergman), Ashley (Eileen Davidson) and Traci, decades ago. She returned sporadically over the years for family events, and made a more permanent return about four years ago.
The Abbott kids stepped up and cared for their mother until the end, despite being abandoned in their formative years. “It’s complicated,” says Maitland. “It’s an interesting requirement of the Abbott…
