“I make grants to Grace Cottage’s endowment, through my Foundation, every year, for many reasons,” said Cliff Heilig of Guilford, CT. “First of all, it’s to honor the memory of my dear wife, Queenie Carmichael Heilig, who grew up in Vermont and graduated from Leland & Gray in 1934.

Secondly, I give because I want to remember all of my dear friends in Vermont who have passed away, and to honor those who are still alive, like Gladys Brown. Finally, I want to help promote the different type of atmosphere that one used to find in Vermont - that spirit of rugged individualism and self-sufficiency that I hope is still alive there, and that I know is the foundation of Grace Cottage.”

Cliff, who stresses that he is very much a “selfmade man”, began his career as a mechanical and electrical engineer. He became involved in the insurance business, ultimately becoming a vice president of Nationwide Insurance. He then went into real estate development, and was president of two corporations, building custom-built houses and developing commercial property in Connecticut. “Then I got interested in financial research and investing, and I started studying companies and building my own and then my Foundation’s portfolio,” said Cliff.

In 1952, Cliff and Queenie bought property in South Wardsboro, and built their second home that became their principal residence from 1987 until it was sold in 1998. Queenie, who had grown up on a dairy farm located where the Townshend Dam now stands, died of Alzheimer’s in 1994. “Our happiest times were spent in Vermont”, recalled Cliff. “Queenie was sick for many years before she died, but whenever we could, we’d spend time in Vermont. It was home for both of us.”

“I’m 88 years old, so I don’t know how much time I have left, but my C.J. Heilig Foundation will continue to benefit Grace Cottage long after I’m gone, in memory of Queenie and my dear friends in Vermont,” said Cliff. “As I see it, Grace Cottage’s future is in building its endowment. What Grace Cottage is doing deserves my help.”