Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (2024)

Table of Contents
Ethel Kennedy, who lost her husband Sen. Robert Kennedy to assassination, has died People are also reading… Photos: Notable deaths in 2024 Glynis Johns Adan Canto Bud Harrelson Dejan Milojevic Jack Burke Mary Weiss Norman Jewison Charles Osgood Melanie Safka Chita Rivera Carl Weathers Wayne Kramer Ian Lavender Toby Keith Henry Fambrough Bob Edwards Don Gullett Lefty Driesell Andreas Brehme Golden Richards Richard Lewis Nikolai Ryzhkov Brian Mulroney Akira Toriyama Iris Apfel Andy Russell Ed Ott Chris Mortensen Steve Lawrence Naomi Barber King Paul Alexander Thomas P. Stafford Chris Simon M. Emmet Walsh Laurent de Brunhoff Obit Angelos Baseball Joe Lieberman Louis Gossett Jr. Joe Flaherty John Sinclair Larry Lucchino Christopher Durang Jerry Grote Schappell Twins Peter Higgs Ralph Puckett Jr. O.J. Simpson Eleanor Coppola Robert MacNeil Faith Ringgold Steve Sloan Ken Holtzman Carl Erskine Whitey Herzog Bob Graham Dickey Betts Mandisa David Pryor Roman Gabriel Andrew Davis Terry Anderson Bill Gladden Duane Eddy Paul Auster Dick Rutan Steve Albini Jimmy Johnson Sean Burroughs Roger Corman A.J. Smith David Sanborn Alice Munro Dabney Coleman Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Jim Otto Ivan Boesky Jan. A.P. Kaczmarek Carlie Colin Morgan Spurlock Richard M. Sherman Bill Walton Albert Ruddy Larry Allen Janis Paige Parnelli Jones Chet Walker The Rev. James Lawson Jr. Jerry West Ron Simons Bob Schul Willie Mays Donald Sutherland Bill Cobbs Kinky Friedman Martin Mull Robert Towne Vic Seixas James Inhofe Joe Bonsall Shelley Duvall Dr. Ruth Westheimer Richard Simmons Jacoby Jones Shannen Doherty James Sikking Pat Williams Lou Dobbs Cheng Pei-Pei Abdul 'Duke' Fakir Bernice Johnson Reagon John Mayall Erica Ash Jack Russell Chi Chi Rodriguez Susan Wojcicki Frank Selvy Wally Amos Gena Rowlands Peter Marshall Alain Delon Phil Donahue Al Attles James Darren James Earl Jones Frankie Beverly Joe Schmidt Tito Jackson JD Souther Dan Evans Mercury Morris Maggie Smith Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox!

AP Breaking

Ethel Kennedy, who lost her husband Sen. Robert Kennedy to assassination, has died

  • MICHAEL CASEY and STEVE LeBLANCAssociated Press
  • 0

Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy, being treated in hospital after stroke

BOSTON, Mass. — Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy who raised their 11 children after he was assassinated and remained dedicated to social causes and the family’s legacy for decades thereafter, died on Thursday, her family said. She was 96.

Kennedy had been hospitalized after suffering a stroke in her sleep on Oct. 3, her family said.

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (1)

“It is with our hearts full of love that we announce the passing of our amazing grandmother,” Joe Kennedy III posted on X. “She died this morning from complications related to a stroke suffered last week.”

“Along with a lifetime’s work in social justice and human rights, our mother leaves behind nine children, 34 grandchildren and 24 great-great grandchildren along with numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom love her dearly,” the family statement said.

People are also reading…

The Kennedy matriarch, whose children were Kathleen, Joseph II, Robert Jr., David, Courtney, Michael, Kerry, Christopher, Max, Douglas and Rory, was one of the last remaining members of a generation that included President John F. Kennedy. Her family said she had recently enjoyed seeing many of her relatives, before falling ill.

A millionaire’s daughter who married the future senator and attorney general in 1950, Ethel Kennedy had endured more death by the age of 40, for the whole world to see, than most would in a lifetime.

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (2)

She was by Robert F. Kennedy’s side when he was fatally shot in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, just after winning the Democratic presidential primary in California. Her brother-in-law, President John F. Kennedy, had been assassinated in Dallas less than five years earlier.

Her parents were killed in a plane crash in 1955, and her brother died in a 1966 crash. Her son David Kennedy later died of a drug overdose, son Michael Kennedy in a skiing accident and nephew John F. Kennedy Jr. in a plane crash. Another nephew, Michael Skakel, was found guilty of murder in 2002, although a judge in 2013 ordered a new trial and the Connecticut Supreme Court vacated his conviction in 2018.

In 2019, she was grieving again after granddaughter Saoirse Kennedy Hill died of an apparent drug overdose.

“One wonders how much this family must be expected to absorb,” family friend Philip Johnson, founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, said after Michael Kennedy’s death.

Ethel Kennedy sustained herself through her faith and devotion to family.

“She was a devout Catholic and a daily communicant, and we are comforted in knowing she is reunited with the love of her life, our father, Robert. F. Kennedy; her children David and Michael; her daughter-in-law Mary; her grandchildren Maeve and Saorise and her great-grandchildren Gideon and Josie,” the family statement said.

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (3)

She founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights soon after husband’s death and advocated for causes including gun control and human rights. She rarely spoke about her husband’s assassination. When her filmmaker daughter, Rory, brought it up in the 2012 HBO documentary, “Ethel,” she couldn’t share her grief.

“When we lost Daddy ...” she began, then teared up and asked that her youngest daughter “talk about something else.”

In 2008, she joined brother-in-law Ted Kennedy and niece Caroline Kennedy in endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president, likening him to her late husband. She made several trips to the White House during the Obama years, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014 and meeting Pope Francis in 2015.

Many of her progeny became well known. Daughter Kathleen became lieutenant governor of Maryland; Joseph represented Massachusetts in Congress; Courtney married Paul Hill, who had been wrongfully convicted of an IRA bombing; Kerry became a human rights activist and president of the RFK center; Christopher ran for governor of Illinois; Max served as a prosecutor in Philadelphia and Douglas reported for Fox News Channel.

Her son Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also became a national figure, although not as a liberal in the family tradition. First known as an environmental lawyer, he evolved into a conspiracy theorist who spread false theories about vaccines. He ran for president as an independent after briefly challenging President Joe Biden, and his name remained on ballots in multiple states after he suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump.

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (4)

Ethel Kennedy did not comment publicly on her son’s actions, although several other family members denounced him.

Decades earlier, she seemed to thrive on her in-laws’ rising power. She was an enthusiastic backer of JFK’s 1960 run and during the Kennedy administration hosted some of the era’s most well-attended parties at their Hickory Hill estate in McLean, Virginia, including one where historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. was pushed fully clothed into the swimming pool. In the Kennedy spirit, she also was known as an avid and highly competitive tennis player and a compulsive planner.

Kennedy was born Ethel Skakel on April 11, 1928, in Chicago, the sixth of seven children of coal magnate George Skakel and Ann Brannack Skakel, a devout Roman Catholic.

She grew up in a 31-room English country manor house in Greenwich, Connecticut, and attended Greenwich Academy before graduating from the Convent of the Sacred Heart in the Bronx in 1945.

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (5)

She met Robert Kennedy through his sister Jean, her roommate at Manhattanville College in New York. They moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he finished his last year of law school at the University of Virginia, and then in 1957, they bought Hickory Hill from by John and Jacqueline Kennedy, who had bought it in 1953.

Robert Kennedy became chief counsel to the Senate Select Committee in 1957. He later was appointed attorney general by his brother, the newly elected President Kennedy.

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (6)

She had supported her husband in his successful 1964 campaign for the U.S. Senate in New York and his subsequent presidential bid. Pregnant with their 11th child when he was gunned down by Sirhan Sirhan, her look of shock and horror was captured by photographers in images that remained indelible decades later.

Photos: Notable deaths in 2024

Glynis Johns

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (7)

Adan Canto

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (8)

Bud Harrelson

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (9)

Dejan Milojevic

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (10)

Jack Burke

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (11)

Mary Weiss

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (12)

Norman Jewison

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (13)

Charles Osgood

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (14)

Melanie Safka

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (15)

Carl Weathers

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (17)

Wayne Kramer

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (18)

Ian Lavender

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (19)

Toby Keith

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (20)

Henry Fambrough

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (21)

Bob Edwards

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (22)

Don Gullett

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (23)

Lefty Driesell

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (24)

Andreas Brehme

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (25)

Golden Richards

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (26)

Richard Lewis

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (27)

Nikolai Ryzhkov

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (28)

Brian Mulroney

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (29)

Akira Toriyama

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (30)

Iris Apfel

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (31)

Andy Russell

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (32)

Ed Ott

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (33)

Chris Mortensen

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (34)

Steve Lawrence

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (35)

Naomi Barber King

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (36)

Paul Alexander

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (37)

Thomas P. Stafford

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (38)

Chris Simon

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (39)

M. Emmet Walsh

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (40)

Laurent de Brunhoff

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (41)

Obit Angelos Baseball

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (42)

Joe Lieberman

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (43)

Louis Gossett Jr.

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (44)

Joe Flaherty

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (45)

John Sinclair

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (46)

Larry Lucchino

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (47)

Christopher Durang

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (48)

Jerry Grote

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (49)

Schappell Twins

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (50)

Peter Higgs

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (51)

Ralph Puckett Jr.

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (52)

O.J. Simpson

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (53)

Eleanor Coppola

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (54)

Robert MacNeil

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (55)

Faith Ringgold

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (56)

Steve Sloan

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (57)

Ken Holtzman

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (58)

Carl Erskine

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (59)

Whitey Herzog

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (60)

Bob Graham

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (61)

Dickey Betts

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (62)

Mandisa

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (63)

David Pryor

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (64)

Roman Gabriel

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (65)

Andrew Davis

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (66)

Terry Anderson

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (67)

Bill Gladden

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (68)

Duane Eddy

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (69)

Paul Auster

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (70)

Dick Rutan

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (71)

Steve Albini

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (72)

Jimmy Johnson

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (73)

Sean Burroughs

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (74)

Roger Corman

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (75)

A.J. Smith

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (76)

David Sanborn

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (77)

Alice Munro

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (78)

Dabney Coleman

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (79)

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (80)

Jim Otto

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (81)

Ivan Boesky

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (82)

Jan. A.P. Kaczmarek

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (83)

Carlie Colin

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (84)

Morgan Spurlock

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (85)

Richard M. Sherman

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (86)

Bill Walton

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (87)

Albert Ruddy

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (88)

Larry Allen

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (89)

Janis Paige

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (90)

Parnelli Jones

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (91)

Chet Walker

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (92)

The Rev. James Lawson Jr.

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (93)

Jerry West

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (94)

Ron Simons

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (95)

Bob Schul

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (96)

Willie Mays

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (97)

Donald Sutherland

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (98)

Bill Cobbs

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (99)

Kinky Friedman

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (100)

Martin Mull

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (101)

Robert Towne

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (102)

Vic Seixas

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (103)

James Inhofe

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (104)

Joe Bonsall

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (105)

Shelley Duvall

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (106)

Dr. Ruth Westheimer

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (107)

Richard Simmons

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (108)

Jacoby Jones

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (109)

Shannen Doherty

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (110)

James Sikking

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (111)

Pat Williams

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (112)

Lou Dobbs

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (113)

Cheng Pei-Pei

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (114)

Abdul 'Duke' Fakir

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (115)

Bernice Johnson Reagon

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (116)

John Mayall

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (117)

Erica Ash

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (118)

Jack Russell

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (119)

Chi Chi Rodriguez

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (120)

Susan Wojcicki

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (121)

Frank Selvy

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (122)

Wally Amos

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (123)

Gena Rowlands

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (124)

Peter Marshall

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (125)

Alain Delon

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (126)

Phil Donahue

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (127)

Al Attles

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (128)

James Darren

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (129)

James Earl Jones

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (130)

Frankie Beverly

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (131)

Joe Schmidt

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (132)

Tito Jackson

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (133)

JD Souther

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (134)

Dan Evans

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (135)

Mercury Morris

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (136)

Maggie Smith

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (137)

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

0 Comments

'); var s = document.createElement('script'); s.setAttribute('src', 'https://assets.revcontent.com/master/delivery.js'); document.body.appendChild(s); window.removeEventListener('scroll', throttledRevContent); __tnt.log('Load Rev Content'); } } }, 100); window.addEventListener('scroll', throttledRevContent); }

Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox!

Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Robert F Kennedy, has died (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Jerrold Considine

Last Updated:

Views: 6501

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (78 voted)

Reviews: 93% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Jerrold Considine

Birthday: 1993-11-03

Address: Suite 447 3463 Marybelle Circles, New Marlin, AL 20765

Phone: +5816749283868

Job: Sales Executive

Hobby: Air sports, Sand art, Electronics, LARPing, Baseball, Book restoration, Puzzles

Introduction: My name is Jerrold Considine, I am a combative, cheerful, encouraging, happy, enthusiastic, funny, kind person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.