'Trailblazer' Shriver Laid to Rest

Kennedy in-law honored for life of service

(NEWSER) - His 19 grandchildren read short remembrances, U2 frontman Bono led mourners in singing "Forever Young" and fond memories and laughter filled a funeral service for R. Sargent Shriver, the 95-year-old statesman laid to rest this weekend. Shriver, who served as the Peace Corps' first director for brother-in-law John Kennedy and served as a running mate on an ill-fated Democratic presidential ticket, was buried last evening in a Massachusetts cemetery just hours after his funeral in suburban Washington, the AP reports. More»

95-year-old Kennedy in-law admitted to hospital

(AP) - Former Peace Corps director and vice-presidential nominee R. Sargent Shriver was in critical condition this morning after being admitted yesterday to a Maryland hospital, a family spokeswoman said. No other details about the 95-year-old's ailment were released, but Shriver announced in 2003 that he had Alzheimer's disease. More»

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»

(NEWSER) - Not too long ago the mentally disabled—or "retarded" people, as we called them then—were often hidden away in medical institutions, neglected by their families, and subjected to horrific policies such as forced sterilization. Eunice Kennedy Shriver changed all that with the Special Olympics, which started in her backyard and now stretches across 120 nations. As Michael Gerson writes in the Washington Post, her brothers founded a political dynasty, but Shriver, though as a woman limited by her era, was a legitimate "civil rights hero," leading "a revolution of play." More»

(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»