Heinz Kerry Recalls Death of First Husband (she wishes she were still married to him, not Kerry)

AP ^ | 6.30.04

[ambrose]

Heinz Kerry Recalls Death of First Husband

By RYAN J. FOLEY

Associated Press Writer

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Teresa Heinz Kerry, who inherited a vast family fortune and heads a billion-dollar foundation, said Tuesday she would give up the money to have her first husband back.

"It was a very sad day when that happened," Heinz Kerry said, speaking of Sen. John Heinz, heir to the Heinz food fortune, who was killed in a 1991 plane crash. "I'd rather have my husband alive than that money."

Heinz Kerry, a philanthropist now married to Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential candidate, said she wants people to judge her by her life's work and not the size of her bank account. She and Kerry wed in 1995, the second marriage for both.

Her comments came during her first visit to the state since a win in Iowa's caucuses ignited her husband's presidential campaign last January. She spoke in the crowded, sweltering basement of a Des Moines health care clinic where she pitched his health care proposals and fielded questions about her wealth.

Addressing the suggestion that her fortune, estimated at $500 million, makes her out of touch with the voters who will decide whether to elect her husband, she said: "It's so ludicrous that it makes you laugh."

"You measure people by what they do with their lives," said Heinz Kerry, who also heads the $1.2 billion Heinz Foundation endowment, which donates money to charitable causes.

Kristin Scuderi, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Republican Party, questioned how well Heinz Kerry could connect with ordinary Iowans. "I kind of question how down to earth she is," Scuderi said.

Heinz Kerry heard from medical patients who could not afford health insurance and called for changes to the system to focus on preventive health care and provide incentives to companies that offer health insurance to employees.

Separately, Kerry told an interviewer he has "no intention" of releasing his divorce records, calling it "ancient history."

"I have no intention of doing that at all. There's no reason whatsoever. It's history, ancient history," Kerry said in an interview with Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo during a campaign stop in Phoenix. "My ex-wife and I are terrific friends, very proud of our children. We have stayed close as an extended family in a sense through those years."

Kerry said his ex-wife, Julia Thorne, sees no reason to release the records, nor do their two children.

"It's none of anybody's business. Period," he said.

[Ruth A.]

Its consistent with all of her statements about her first husband. I can accept that he was the love of her life. I wish he were still alive, too.

[ambrose]

Same here. I can't imagine he'd be happy knowing his fortune would be used to finance the presidential ambitions of a Fabian Socialist scumbag.

[Rastus]

From an NRO article today:

(Kerry also may want to revise his own phone records: When Hoffmann checked the caller ID, it read "H. J. Heinz III" — the name of Teresa Heinz Kerry's first husband, the Pennsylvania senator who died in 1991.)

So, would she still be a Republican if Heinz were alive?

[Rastus]

Separately, Kerry told an interviewer he has "no intention" of releasing his divorce records, calling it "ancient history."

It may not be up to him.

[nopardons]

So do I.

I wonder how this makes John Kerry feel. LOL

[nopardons]

Absolutely and in spades!

[Salman]

This sort of thing is just one of the hazards of marrying a widow. Not big deal stuff.

[Don W]

My sister married a widower, and we just laid him to rest next to his first wife.

There is more to life and love than you seem to appreciate.

[Caipirabob]

Great, so now John Kerry loses a popularity contest with his wife between himself and a dead guy.

[jnarcus]

"You measure people by what they do with their lives...." Oh man what a maroon she is. What in the world has she done other than spend other peoples money ? Nada,nothing,zip

[null and void]

True, but at least the dead guy can still vote for Kerry...

[Klatuu]

she wants people to judge her by her life's work and not the size of her bank account

Without that bank account she inherited, what would her life's work amounted to? She ain't exactly Mother Theresa!

[AmishDude]

Actually, I think she would be a Republican if he were still alive. She strikes me as somebody who wants to be viewed as smart amongst her peers. She'd be a good Republican if she socialized with Republicans.

[Semper Paratus]

What in the world has she done other than spend other peoples money ?

But she may be the wealthiest African-American.

[LurkedLongEnough]

Divorce records="ancient history"
Vietnam = "yesterday..."

[anniegetyourgun]

So true....so true....

[Solamente]

Maybe if she could borrow John F'ing Kerry's neckbolts, she could reanimate Sen. John Heinz?

[eeriegeno]

Kerry said his ex-wife, Julia Thorne, sees no reason to release the records, nor do their two children. "It's none of anybody's business. Period," he said.

Oh, but it is our business, Mr Kerry, to determine what kind of character you are before putting you in charge. We didn't do that with Mr Clinton and found that he would rather play with females more than attend to the affairs of the state. You need to release all of your records (medical, marital, military) if we are to trust you.

[EQAndyBuzz]

"Oh, but it is our business, Mr Kerry, to determine what kind of character you are before putting you in charge. We didn't do that with Mr Clinton and found that he would rather play with females more than attend to the affairs of the state. You need to release all of your records (medical, marital, military) if we are to trust you."

And you are to quit your Senate seat to show that you have the courage to rise up to a challenge with nothing to fall back on except your moral fortitude and beliefs.