Grace Caroline Hefner

Grace Caroline Hefner, 101, mother of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, died Thursday in Scottsdale, Ariz., where she had lived for the last several years.

Mrs. Hefner was one of the first investors in her son's magazine when it started in 1953. She became a millionaire when the magazine's parent company went public in 1971.

"My mother was a very special person," Hugh Hefner said in a statement. "She didn't always agree with my ideas, but she always believed in me. When I had run out of the funds I needed to publish Playboy's first issue, she reached into her own personal savings."

Mrs. Hefner was born in 1895 in Holdrege, Neb. She also is survived by another son, Keith; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Services are pending.

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  • * Many thanks to Alex P. Reed (#48008650) for parents links and Harold Barraclough (#47891768) for additional grave info
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  • Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Sep 28 2017, 3:57:28 UTC