Constance Aimee (Martin) Ballantyne, known as Connie, passed away gracefully on June 8, 2016, with her husband of 73 years at her side. The Carle Place resident was preceded in death by her brother Robert Arthur and sister Vivian Irene. Connie’s mother was a teacher and her father was an architect.
Connie was born on March 3, 1923 in Southside Hospital in Bayshore, NY. She grew up in Garden City and attended The Stratford Avenue School and Garden City High School, advancing ahead of her class. Connie was great in math and sciences, and wanted to be a singer. She was president of her drama club, loved horseback riding and travel. Her favorite song while growing up was “Indian Love Call,” and her favorite flowers were gardenias, tulips and aster.
She met the love of her life, Reginald ‘Buck’ Ballantyne in 1939, and their first date was going to a polo match, followed by a bite to eat at Howard Johnson’s. She liked Buck because he was a gentleman and handsome. He liked her because she was cute, blonde and fun. They went to movies, dances and polo matches.
Although her mother told her they were too young, they married at 8 p.m. on Dec. 23, 1942 in Spartanburg, SC, on their way to Fort Benning, GA, where Buck was preparing to deploy to Europe for WWII.
Connie was a stay-at-home mother who raised six children. She took pride in the fact that each one is successful in their own way, and all are college graduates, and law-abiding good citizens, doing good for others. The family spent summers at the idyllic Hulett’s Landing on Lake George in the Adirondack mountains of NY.
Connie taught the family to water ski and she was a skilled boat driver. She loved swimming, singing and playing tennis. There wasn’t much she couldn’t do, except pass up chocolate; Connie loved chocolate!
After her six children were grown and on their own, she dove back into singing and acting, primarily with church groups and the local school fundraisers. She loved reading, summer swimming, watching “Jeopardy” and singing, especially “Danny Boy.”
When asked her favorite color, she’d say red and blue, likely because of her patriotism. She valued honesty, truth and trust.
She is survived by her husband, Buck, six children, Reginald III, Paula, Margot, Bruce, Peter and Barbara; 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
