As someone raised in a family that revered John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, I grew up steeped in Kennedy lore. I was more familiar with JFK and his family, including his glamorous wife, Jackie, but was always a bit fascinated by Ethel Kennedy, widow of RFK and mother of his 11 children — the youngest of whom (Rory) was born six months after his assassination. Every photo I ever saw of Ethel, it seemed she had a twinkle in her eye.
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I often wondered about that — what it must have been like to be the young mother of such a large brood — a high-profile family — widowed at 40 and in such a traumatic way. It can’t have been easy, though I can’t pretend to know much about Ethel Kennedy aside from what I could glean from the aforementioned photos and the carefully curated public accounts of her in the years since.
I wrote about Ethel Kennedy recently, in light of the rift that appears to have arisen among her children in the wake of son Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision first to run for president and oppose Joe Biden and then to drop out of the race and endorse former President Donald Trump. I thought it interesting — and quite sad — that several of her children had elected to publicly denounce their brother over his political choices.
‘I Would Never’: Ethel Kennedy on RFK and Telling Their Kids What
He Would Think About Certain Subjects
For her part, Ethel appears to have stayed out of the fray, though at her advanced age, one wonders the extent to which she was made aware of it — or what thoughts she may have shared with her family in private if she was.
As many have noted, Ethel Kennedy endured more than her share of grief over her long life.
In addition to her husband’s death, her parents were killed in a plane crash in 1955 and her brother died in a crash in 1966. Her son David died of a drug overdose and Michael Kennedy, another son, was killed in a skiing accident.
Her nephew, John F. Kennedy, Jr., the son of the slain president, was killed in a plane crash, while a second nephew, Michael Skakel, was convicted of murder in 2002 — a conviction vacated in 2018.
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She also buried one granddaughter who died of a drug overdose on the family compound in 2019, and another who died with her son in a freak canoe accident in 2020.
On coping with the deluge of tragedy, she told People in 2012: “I pretty well lived in the moment. And I was blessed with faith.”
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Now, it is her family’s turn to grieve for her — Ethel Kennedy passed away Thursday at the age of 96.
She was born in 1928 in Chicago, Illinois — the sixth of seven children born to George and Ann (Brannek) Skakel. She grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, and attended Manhattanville College, where she met Jean Kennedy, through whom she met Jean’s brother, Robert. The two married in June 1950 and purchased Hickory Hill — the 13-bedroom estate in McLean, Virginia, where they raised their growing family and held famously eclectic gatherings — from John and Jackie Kennedy in 1956.
Shortly after Robert’s death in 1968, Ethel founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (now known as Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights). The center, now headed by daughter Kerry Kennedy, describes its mission thusly:
We advocate for human rights issues and pursue strategic litigation to hold governments accountable at home and around the world. We foster a social good approach to business, celebrate agents of change, and to ensure change that lasts, we educate millions of students about human rights, training the next generation of leaders.
We work with the bravest people on earth—partners at home and around the world—to realize Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s dream of a more just and peaceful world. Working to expose injustice and heal pain and suffering, our pursuit of racial and economic equality forms the foundation of all our programs at RFK Human Rights.
“Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so long ago: ‘To tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.’” —Robert F. Kennedy
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On Tuesday, Kerry Kennedy issued a statement disclosing that Ethel had suffered a stroke five days prior.
Late Thursday morning came the news that Ethel Kennedy had passed away. Kerry shared an announcement on X/Twitter:
It is with our hearts full of love that we announce the passing of our mother, Ethel Kennedy. Please keep our mother in your hearts and prayers. pic.twitter.com/bdIQFsC0CS
— Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) October 10, 2024
She also shared a tribute from the center founded by her mother:
Thank you, Mrs. Kennedy, for everything. Rest in eternal peace. 🤍 pic.twitter.com/fnd1illQor
— Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (@RFKHumanRights) October 10, 2024
As of this writing, RFK Jr. has not issued a statement regarding his mother’s passing. However, his wife, Cheryl Hines, issued a sweet tribute to her mother-in-law early Thursday afternoon.
My mother in law, Ethel Kennedy, Bobby’s mother, passed this morning. It has been my great honor to have shared laughter and love with Ethel. Her charisma, wisdom and strength will live on with me in every memory of her. Bobby and I spent many warm nights in Hyannis Port having… pic.twitter.com/j7faAcU1Bm
— Cheryl Hines (@CherylHines) October 10, 2024
My mother in law, Ethel Kennedy, Bobby’s mother, passed this morning. It has been my great honor to have shared laughter and love with Ethel. Her charisma, wisdom and strength will live on with me in every memory of her. Bobby and I spent many warm nights in Hyannis Port having dinner with her and hearing stories from her extraordinary life. She always made me laugh. She was never too serious except when she needed to be. She dressed to nines with bare feet. She will be missed. My love is with the family.
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Hines’ description of Ethel Kennedy squares with that twinkle in the eye I always saw.
May she rest in peace.
