HOT Magazine HOT Magazine - Issue 11, 12 Volume 5 | Page 45

(Article Reprinted from HOT Magazine June 2014 Issue)
Connie and Roy stayed in Bangkok
until 1976 when they moved to a
beautiful villa in Malta overlooking
the Mediterranean. She and Roy
loved their time there and made
many friends. Life was wonderful
until one fateful day in 1981 when
the leftist government accused them
of being CIA spies and gave them
just 24 hours to leave the country.
24 hours did not give them enough
time to pack all their belongings
but friends helped and most was
retrieved.
From Malta the couple moved to
Santa Barbra in California to be close
to their oldest son Skip who was
a movie executive at 20th Century
Fox. Through Skip, Connie and
Roy became close to Hollywood
celebrities including Ronald Regan
and his wife Nancy. Even when the
Regan’s moved to the White House
they would continue to send Connie
and Roy a card on their anniversary,
memento’s she still has. Knowing
Presidents seems to run in the
family, Connie’s grandfather was
the personal photographer to Teddy
Roosevelt. Connie loved to work
and while in Santa Barbara, a very
exclusive community, she set about
buying and selling houses always
turning a nice profit on each one.
In 1989 while on holiday in
Thailand their son Skip had a
serious scuba diving accident, so
serious that Connie and Roy came
back to Thailand to be with their
son. Thankfully Skip recovered and
returned to the States. For Connie
and Roy however, after living in 54
homes in 7 countries they decided to
settle down once and for all in Hua
Hin.
Sadly, Roy passed away from
cancer in 1993, Connie remained in
Hua Hin and still lives here to this
day. After Roy’s passing, Connie and
her son Bill set up the Roy E. Heinecke
Foundation which supports the
less fortunate children throughout
Thailand who have outstanding
records of performance. Each year,
the foundation gives scholarships
to 449 students which help support
their education from early learning
stages through to graduation.
On Connie’s 90th birthday the
family threw a large birthday party
for her with over 450 guests. At
the party they raised $225,000 U.S.
Dollars for the foundation. Connie,
who has always been a great joke
teller, decided to put together a joke
book of some of her favorites with
all monies going to the foundation.
Her Book “A Connoisseur’s Choice of
Jokes” received rave reviews. Connie
proudly states that even Australia’s
richest woman, Gina Rinehart has a
copy.
When asked what her happiest
memory is, Connie doesn’t hesitate
in saying that her happiest memory
was of her wedding day. She then
added “I’m the luckiest girl in the
world, I’ve lived a wonderful life”.
Skip & Kathleen
Connie’s son Skip has retired
from the movie business and
now lives in Ireland collecting
cars. He and his wife Kathleen
have one son Christopher who
lives in Los Angeles
Son Bill is the Billionaire
founder of Minor International.
He and his wife Kathy live in
Bangkok and have two sons,
John who lives in Bangkok and
David who lives in Portland
Oregon, both have two children.
Bill & Kathy
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