Mathilda Coster MORTIMER, Duchess of Argyll

1925 - 1997  (71 years)

• Name	Mathilda Coster MORTIMER
  Suffix	Duchess of Argyll
  Birth	20 Aug 1925	Geneva, Switzerland   [1]
  Gender	Female
  Education	Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA   [1]
  	Harvard University
  	Studied Philosophy [1]
  Death	6 Jun 1997	Paris, Republic of France   [1, 2]
  	Address: American Hospital
  	The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) 9 June 1997 p. 9a American-descended duchess dies by the Associated Press Paris. Mathilda, the American-descended Duchess of Argyll, an ancient Scottish clan, has died in Paris at the age of 71. She died Friday, an obituary notice in Le Monde said. The cause of death was not given. London's Daily Telegraph said she had been in poor health, and for the past three years remained in Paris. Mathilda Costner Mortimer was born August 20, 1925, in Geneva, the daughter of Stanley Mortimer of Litchfield, Conn. She was raised in France by her grandparents and then studied philosophy at Harvard. Divorced in 1961 from her first husband, Clemens Heller, a professor of human sciences in Paris, she married the 11th Duke of Argyll in 1963. Together they enjoyed traveling and Highland dancing and gave lavish parties at the Argyll family seat, Inveraray Castle, in the Scottish county of Argyllshire. After the duke's death in 1973, the duchess kept her homes in France and Scotland. As well as French and English, she spoke fluent German, kept up intellectual interests and privately published a collection of essays and the memoirs of the youngest of three sons from her first marriage, who died in 1974. Four years ago, she enrolled at Britain's Open University for a science foundation course. The duchess is survived by two sons. In 1967, she and the duke had a daughter, Elspeth, who lived only six days. Funeral services will take place at Vezelay in central France on Wednesday, Le Monde said." [1]
  Burial	11 Jun 1997	Vézelay, Department de I'Yonne, Bourgogne, Republic of France   [1]
  Person ID	I24	Clan Campbell Genealogy
  Last Modified	20 Apr 2025

  
  

  Father	Stanley MORTIMER
  Family ID	F41	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Professor Franz Max Ludwig Melchior Clemens HELLER
  Marriage	Bef 1961  [1, 3]
  Divorce	1961  [1]
  Children	1. HELLER,   b. Bef 6 Aug 1953   d. Aft 6 June 1997 (Age 43 years)   2. HELLER,   b. Bef 6 Aug 1953   d. Aft 6 June 1997 (Age 43 years)   3. Charles Alexis Niels Clemens HELLER,   b. 6 Aug 1953, Saint-Raphael, Var, Republic of France d. 9 Jun 1974 (Age 20 years)
  Family ID	F12	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	18 Apr 2025

  
  

  Family 2	Ian Douglas CAMPBELL, Duke of Argyll,   b. 18 Jun 1903, Farnham, Surrey County, England d. 7 Apr 1973, Haymarket, Edinburgh, Scotland (Age 69 years)
  Marriage	15 Jun 1963	Horsham, Sussex County, England   [1, 4, 5]
  Children	1. Lady Elizabeth CAMPBELL,   b. 29 Apr 1967, Glasgow, Scotland d. 4 May 1967, Glasgow, Scotland (Age 0 years)
  Family ID	F11	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	5 Aug 2025

  
  

• Notes

  4th wife of Ian Douglas CAMPBELL11th Duke of Argyll

  
  

• Sources

  [S24] The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), 9 Jun 1997, p. 9a. Associated Press. American-descended duchess dies. [S8] Publications, p. 142. Dewar, Peter Beauclerk (2001) Burke's Landed Gentry of Great Britain: The Kingdom in Scotland. 19th edition. Volume 1. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage and Gentry. [S30] Monumental Inscriptions (France), 9 Jun 1974, Find A Grave Memorial No. 233291099. Vézelay Cemetery, Vézelay, Department de I'Yonne, Bourgogne, France. HELLER, Alexis Coster. Photo added by Stories among the stones. www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 April 2025. [S9] Marriages index (CR) England, 2nd Qtr., 1963., Vol. 5d. p. 853. Horsham, Sussex County. CAMPBELL, Ian D., Duke of Argyll and MORTIMER, Mathilda C. [S113] Dewar, Peter Beauclerk, Burke's Landed Gentry of Great Britain: The Kingdom in Scotland. 19th edition. Volume 1, ((2001) Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage and Gentry), p. 142.