Ethel Kennedy — the widow of Robert F. Kennedy and the mother of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — is being memorialized in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, with the eulogy delivered by President Biden. Former President Barack Obama also spoke at the service.
The human rights advocate died in her sleep after a stroke. She was 96.
Obama called her a “big dose in a small package,” and a “spitfire from a young age.” She was passionate about everything, Obama said, from juvenile justice reform to civil rights.
“As serious as Ethel was about righting wrongs, she never seemed to take herself too seriously,” Obama said.
Ben Curtis / AP
The matriarch of the storied Kennedy family is survived by nine children, 34 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. Her grandson, Joe Kennedy III, said she was a “strong woman who has led a remarkably fulfilling life.”
Members of the Kennedy family gathered Monday for her funeral in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Mr. Biden has praised Ethel Kennedy for her resilience and determination.
“Ethel Kennedy was an American icon—a matriarch of optimism and moral courage, an emblem of resilience and service,” Mr. Biden said in a statement after her death. “Devoted to family and country, she had a spine of steel and a heart of gold that inspired millions of Americans, including me and Jill. We were blessed to call her a dear friend.”
Ethel Kennedy, who had 11 children, raised them after her husband was assassinated in 1968 during his presidential campaign. Her son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was running for president in 2024 as an independent, but he suspended his campaign in August and endorsed former President Donald Trump.
Born on April 11, 1928, Ethel Kennedy suffered a number of tragedies in her long life. In 1955, both of her parents died when their private plane crashed. Her son, David Kennedy, died of a drug overdose at 28. Another son, Michael Kennedy, was killed in a skiing accident at 39. And both her husband and her brother-in-law, President John F. Kennedy, were assassinated.
She founded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights foundation in October 1968, shortly after her husband’s assassination.