Theresa Ostrander (nee Fortney), also known as Theresa Fuller and Theresa Nolan,
died peacefully at home surrounded by her children on May 5, 2026, in Citrus Heights,
California.
She is survived by her children Mary Lynne Wolfe (Lawrence) of Spotsylvania, VA,
Michael Fuller (Jennifer) of Plymouth, MA, and Jennifer Nolan of Citrus Heights, CA.
She is predeceased by children Marc Fuller, Lisa Fuller, and James Ostrander. She
was a beloved grandmother to Melinda Wolfe McGrady (Richard) of Fredericksburg,
VA, and great grandmother to Finn, Aven, and Emmerson McGrady.
Born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on May 17, 1934, Theresa was just short of her
92nd birthday. Her parents were Oliver and Olive Fortney (Valimont). She was the
second and last remaining of four children, Oliver (Charlotte) Fortney, Shirley (John)
Mussina, and Mary (Robert) Kranz. She is survived by many nieces and nephews,
whom she loved dearly.
A devout Catholic all her life, Theresa attended Annunciation Church and St. Joseph's
School as she was growing up, where she played the piano at mass. She completed
her education as a graduate of St. Joseph's High School in 1952.
Theresa's first job was working at the candy counter in a movie theater, where she and
her friend allegedly almost danced a hole in the carpet behind the counter. While
working at a soda fountain, someone ordered a limeade and she forgot to put the
sugar in, much to the customer's dismay.
She married her first husband, Daniel Fuller, when she was 20, and soon moved with
him to Rochester, NY. She survived her second husband, David Nolan, and third,
Joseph Ostrander. She had her first child when she was 23 and her last when she was
44.
Theresa was employed at a bank in Rochester, and then gradually moved into
secretarial work. She worked as a secretary at Xerox. In 1969 she was hired as an
executive secretary at Frieden, and when the company closed, she was hired as a
legal secretary in a private law firm.
In a spirit of adventure, in 1982 Theresa moved to Sacramento with her children. In
1989, she began working for the State of California with the Department of Health
Services, where she progressed to the position of Senior Legal Analyst. She retired
with great fanfare in 2001.
People who knew Theresa will recall her as a woman who lived according to her
principles, with compassion, kindness, and generosity.

She also had a tremendous capacity for fun and loved to entertain. No matter how little
she had, there was always a large table with room for one more. Her children recount
the time she brought a homeless woman home to dinner during a snowstorm. Every
Christmas Eve she put out as much food as she could afford, and people dropped by all
evening. She would take her children out in the street to sing Christmas carols, and
she'd bang pots and pans on the porch at midnight on New Year's Eve. She was a great
innovator, when necessary, once going as a bag of leaves for Halloween (garbage bag,
glued-on leaves). Every year on March 17th she would call each family member to play
the piano and sing Irish songs as her dog sang along beside her. Favorites included "O
Danny Boy," "The Wearing of the Green," and "MacNamara's Band." When asked how
she happened to have two children born on New Year's Day and one on New Year's
Eve she would playfully reply that it's because she went out dancing on New Year's Eve
or say "Beware the Ides of March!" Her entire face scrunched in delight when she
laughed, and her laughter was infectious.
She was true to the end, enjoying sips of red wine and moving her feet in time to her
favorite Irish music in the days before her death.
There was always money for the poor, even when she had to save for two months to
buy herself a new lipstick. She supported children's charities. She crocheted dozens
of scarves for the homeless and volunteered at the St. Vincent de Paul society after
she retired. She was an adept seamstress who sewed clothing for herself and her
children, and she later made beautiful legacy quilts for each of them. If she had
money to spend, she would use it to bring the family together.
In her later years Theresa returned to Williamsport, where she reconnected with old
friends and had an active card playing/book clubbing/church going life. As things got
more difficult, she returned to Northern California to live with her daughter Jennifer.
Until the end, she fought for legal justice, most recently in the company of Blue
Bloods, Judge Judy, and Judge Steve Harvey.
Theresa didn't have an easy life, but she made it easier for others in every way she
could. Whether by helping someone endure a painful loss, providing a place to live
until someone could get back on their feet, sending money, going out in a storm to
provide a ride, or just being that friend who was always there, she set an unmatchable
and enduring example to all who knew her.
A memorial mass will be held in Williamsport, PA, where she will be inurned.