Kennedy Sister Eunice Shriver Dead at 88

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 11, 2009 6:05 AM CDT

(Newser) – Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the 88-year-old sister of John F. Kennedy and the founder of the Special Olympics, died at Cape Cod Hospital early today, the Wall Street Journal reports. Shriver had been in critical condition for a week. Inspired by the struggles of her mentally disabled sister Rosemary, Shriver spent much of her life championing the rights of the disabled. The devoutly religious Catholic also often campaigned on behalf of her brothers.

"If that girl had been born with balls, she would have been a hell of a politician," her father once said. "She raised me to believe you are as good as the boys, as tough and as competitive as the boys, and you need to do something to help the world," her daughter Maria Shriver said recently. Sen. Ted Kennedy and Jean Kennedy Smith are now the sole surviving siblings from Joseph and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy's nine children.

[Images (6)]

[Quotes (2)]

In this Aug. 21, 1964 file photo, Eunice Kennedy Shriver is shown swimming with youngsters in a pool at the day camp for mentally challenged children in Fairmount Park at Philadelphia. (AP Photo, File)

In this April 24, 1968 file photo, Sargent Shriver and his wife Eunice Kennedy Shriver watch a satirical presentation by the staff of the Office of Economic Opportunity at night in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Harrity, File)

In this May 11, 2005 file photo, Eunice Kennedy Shriver arrives at a gathering in the Ronald Reagan building to pay tribute to former first lady Nancy Reagan in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

In this Friday, Nov. 10, 2006 file photo, Eunice Shriver Kennedy, the founder of the Special Olympics, attends an event at UN Headquarters in New York. (AP Photo/David Karp, file)

In this Jan 28, 2005 file photo, Eunice Kennedy Shriver arrives at the Golden Jubilee Gala of the Viennese Opera Ball at New York's Waldorf Astoria. (AP Photo/Jennifer Szymaszek, File)

In this Nov. 7, 2006 file photo, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dances with his mother-in-law Eunice Kennedy Shriver after giving his acceptance speech, Tuesday, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

She raised me to believe you are as good as the boys, as tough and as competitive as the boys, and you need to do something to help the world.
- Maria Shriver

With enormous conviction and unrelenting effort, Eunice Kennedy Shriver has labored on behalf of America's least-powerful people, those with mental retardation. - President Ronald Reagan, on presenting Shriver with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Eunice Shriver Critically Ill

(NEWSER) - Eunice Shriver, the 88-year-old sister of Sen. Ted Kennedy, is in intensive care in a Massachusetts hospital, the Cape Cod Times reports. The Special Olympics founder has been in the hospital for a week and is in critical but stable condition. Her family, including daughter Maria Shriver and son-in-law Arnold Schwarzenegger, is by her side. “The family is grateful for the prayers of her many friends,” a Special Olympics spokesman says. More»

Throngs Turn Out to Bid Kennedy Farewell

(NEWSER) - Thousands of constituents and admirers turned out this afternoon to honor Ted Kennedy as a motorcade bearing the senator's body from his Cape Cod home to his brother's presidential library wound through the streets of Boston. Some wept, some applauded as both locals and out-of-towners flooded to say goodbye. "We’re his family,” one Bostonian told the Globe. “We loved him so much, and we’ll miss him so much." More»

Kennedy Leaves Cape Cod for the Last Time

(AP) - Ted Kennedy's body is en route to Boston, where he will lie in repose at his slain brother's presidential library for 2 days of public visitation. The motorcade carrying the senator's body and members of his family departed the family compound on Cape Cod for the 70-mile trip to the state capital. Hundreds of people are lining the route of the motorcade, which will end at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. More»

'Trailblazer' Shriver Laid to Rest

Special Olympian: she was 'Queen of humanity'

(NEWSER) - At today's funeral Mass for Eunice Kennedy Shriver, daughter Maria called her a “trailblazer” who “was scary smart and not afraid to show it,” the Cape Cod Times reports. Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder, Joe Biden, and Arnold Schwarzenegger attended the private service for the Special Olympics founder at the Kennedy family church in Hyannis, Mass. Her only surviving brother, Sen. Ted Kennedy, was too ill to attend. More»

Mourners Honor Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Hundreds honor founder of Special Olympics

(NEWSER) - Several hundred people mourned Eunice Kennedy Shriver at a wake today in Massachusetts, the Cape Cod Times reports. Husband Sargent Shriver, daughter Maria, and son-in-law Arnold Schwarzenegger were joined by family, friends, and others appreciative of Shriver’s advocacy for the disabled through the Special Olympics. "Eunice's life was such an example of the best of our country," said Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The funeral at 10am tomorrow will be streamed live at www.eunicekennedyshriver.org. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website