Eunice Kennedy Shriver

[Serendipity09]

Eunice Kennedy Shriver hospitalized


Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the 86-year-old sister of President John F. Kennedy, who founded the Special Olympics and championed the rights of the mentally retarded, has been hospitalized.
Shriver was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital on Nov. 18 and was in fair condition Saturday, said hospital spokeswoman Emily Parker, who did not release any more information.
Shriver is also the sister of Sen. Edward Kennedy and the mother-in-law of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said in June that she was recovering from a series of strokes.
Schwarzenegger said that the family had been told that Shriver would never talk again, but that she proved the doctors wrong.
Shriver is credited with transforming America's view of the mentally disabled from institutionalized patients to that of friends, neighbors and athletes. Her efforts were inspired in part by the struggles of her retarded sister, Rosemary. She founded the Special Olympics in 1968.

[Miss Swallow]

I miss JFK even though he died 9 years before I was born.

[poppie]

How old is this article about Eunice Shriver? She has been unwell fior many years, just hanging on. Her Husband, Sergeant Shriver has been suffering from dementia for many years. I wish her well and hope her medical problems can be resolved.

[warmbear]

This is sad about Eunice.. One thing however.. Rosemary was not mentally retarded, but rather brain damaged.. Her mental condtion was the direct result of an unnecessary, botched lobotomy that Joe Kennedy had performed on her against her will (and against the wishes of wife Rose Kennedy as well)...

[Kathyf]

This is sad about Eunice.. One thing however.. Rosemary was not mentally retarded, but rather brain damaged.. Her mental condtion was the direct result of an unnecessary, botched lobotomy that Joe Kennedy had performed on her against her will (and against the wishes of wife Rose Kennedy as well)...

YES and thats one reason I hate the Kennedy's. Sure they worked with the disabled but only because they felt guilty.

[poppie]

Rosemary Kennedy - Please be sitting down when you read this. Joe Kennedy had Rosemary subjected to a lobotomy because she was "slow". Perhaps that is true; perhaps not. Fact is Rosemary was BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Many admirers while a teenager. Papa Joe was afraid since she was slow, she could easily be seduced and become pregnant while unmarried. This would cause a scandle, black mark on the Kennedy name. Can you even imagine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The entire male Kennedy's were a black mark of scandal on that family.

This is why I hate Joe Kennedy so much. He and his sons never were faithful to any of their wives; they all fucked anything and everyone they could, whenever the opportunity presented themselves. Much can be said of Tedy and Mary Joe Koepeckin drowning. Joe Kennedy made a slovenly, know nothing, do nothing, be nothing out of Rosemary. He even spent extra money/donated a great deal of money, to build a house on the property of the Catholic mental institution where Rosemary was confined. Rosemary lived there with a few select Catholic nuns to look after her needs. Rosemary was age 23 when she was subjected to the lobotomy and lived until she was age 86. I am happy Joe Kennedy's life ended in so much torment. He deserved to die in such a terrible manner. Karma is a bitch.

[Kathyf]

Rosemary Kennedy - Please be sitting down when you read this. Joe Kennedy had Rosemary subjected to a lobotomy because she was "slow". Perhaps that is true; perhaps not. Fact is Rosemary was BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Many admirers while a teenager. Papa Joe was afraid since she was slow, she could easily be seduced and become pregnant while unmarried. This would cause a scandle, black mark on the Kennedy name. Can you even imagine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The entire male Kennedy's were a black mark of scandal on that family.

This is why I hate Joe Kennedy so much. He and his sons never were faithful to any of their wives; they all fucked anything and everyone they could, whenever the opportunity presented themselves. Much can be said of Tedy and Mary Joe Koepeckin drowning. Joe Kennedy made a slovenly, know nothing, do nothing, be nothing out of Rosemary. He even spent extra money/donated a great deal of money, to build a house on the property of the Catholic mental institution where Rosemary was confined. Rosemary lived there with a few select Catholic nuns to look after her needs. Rosemary was age 23 when she was subjected to the lobotomy and lived until she was age 86. I am happy Joe Kennedy's life ended in so much torment. He deserved to die in such a terrible manner. Karma is a bitch.

I Agree I hate all of them Karma is exactly right. Ever woder why they are all gone? I hated JFK the most for what he did to Marilyn!!!!!!!!!!!

[Miss Swallow]

I Agree I hate all of them Karma is exactly right. Ever woder why they are all gone? I hated JFK the most for what he did to Marilyn!!!!!!!!!!!

What about saying Marilyn got what she deserved for sleeping with married men? Karma doesn't play favorites.

[Kathyf]

They killed her

[Miss Swallow]

They killed her

Call the police. Tell them what you know.

[warmbear]

Rosemary Kennedy - Please be sitting down when you read this. Joe Kennedy had Rosemary subjected to a lobotomy because she was "slow". Perhaps that is true; perhaps not. Fact is Rosemary was BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Many admirers while a teenager. Papa Joe was afraid since she was slow, she could easily be seduced and become pregnant while unmarried. This would cause a scandle, black mark on the Kennedy name. Can you even imagine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The entire male Kennedy's were a black mark of scandal on that family.

This is why I hate Joe Kennedy so much. He and his sons never were faithful to any of their wives; they all fucked anything and everyone they could, whenever the opportunity presented themselves. Much can be said of Tedy and Mary Joe Koepeckin drowning. Joe Kennedy made a slovenly, know nothing, do nothing, be nothing out of Rosemary. He even spent extra money/donated a great deal of money, to build a house on the property of the Catholic mental institution where Rosemary was confined. Rosemary lived there with a few select Catholic nuns to look after her needs. Rosemary was age 23 when she was subjected to the lobotomy and lived until she was age 86. I am happy Joe Kennedy's life ended in so much torment. He deserved to die in such a terrible manner. Karma is a bitch.

Rosemary by first person reports was not terribly "slow" (a bit simple and gullible perhaps). She was however very attractive, and was getting a reputation as being "fast"... Furthermore,she was overly interested in men (plural). Joe did not like this at all, as he had long reaching goals for his family, and that precluded the possible scandal that Rosemary might cause. So, he tricked Rose into going on a trip, and the moment Rose was out of the way, had Rosemary committed against her will, and the surgery performed. The surgery was a completely botched job by any standard, and left Rosemary with a very low level of functional mental capacity.

I don't think that Rose ever got over this stunt.

Joe Kennedy was an absolute b*stard, and taught his sons to emulate him. Not a nice man by any standard. He thought all women were chattels (at best).

[Kathyf]

I agree started when he bought the election for JFK.

[djdeath-hag]

It would seem that karma for the sins of the father oughta be played out by now. Joe Sr. was quite a piece of work! Poor Rose...and all of the other long-suffering Kennedy women. The only one that I have a great deal of sympathy & respect for is Caroline. She has managed to somehow rise above all of her losses & live a respectible life. I hope that she & her husband can break the shell, stay married & not outlive their kids.

[Kathyf]

It would seem that karma for the sins of the father oughta be played out by now. Joe Sr. was quite a piece of work! Poor Rose...and all of the other long-suffering Kennedy women. The only one that I have a great deal of sympathy & respect for is Caroline. She has managed to somehow rise above all of her losses & live a respectible life. I hope that she & her husband can break the shell, stay married & not outlive their kids.

I hope so too. I felt so bad when ohn Jr. died so unfair. As for the others bad ones don't care.

[coconn04]

Eunice Kennedy Shriver dies Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of President John F. Kennedy and a champion of the disabled, died today, according to the Special Olympics. She was 88. Born on July 10, 1921, in Brookline, Massachusetts, Shriver was the fifth of nine children to Joseph and Rose Kennedy. She was the founder of the Special Olympics, which started as a summer day camp in her backyard in 1962.

[radiojane]

Too bad. I think she was one of the few useful Kennedys.

[djdeath-hag]

R.I.P., Eunice. Thank you from all of the "special" Olympiads of planet Earth.

[TheMysterian]

R.I.P.

[Luanne]

RIP

I was looking at pictures of her when she was younger, and Maria Shriver looks so much like her.

[djdeath-hag]

RIP

I was looking at pictures of her when she was younger, and Maria Shriver looks so much like her.

Agreed. I hope that Maria spends less time exposed to UVrays, lest she end up as wrinkled as her very recently, dearly departed mom. Eunice's death, at such a ripe old age, at least didn't come from an airline mishap. Airline misadventures have killed more Kennedy's than assassins, cancer, trees or anything else!

[sherry326]

She was a wonderful American, a true public servant. She was my favorite Kennedy.

[ZoeAnne]

RIP Eunice

[simon69]

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of President John F. Kennedy and a champion of the disabled who founded the Special Olympics, died Tuesday, the Special Olympics said. She was 88.Born on July 10, 1921, in Brookline, Massachusetts, Shriver was the fifth of nine children to Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. She emerged from the long shadow of siblings John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy as the founder of the Special Olympics, which started as a summer day camp in her backyard in 1962.
Today, 3.1 million people with mental disabilities participate in 228 programs in 170 nations, according to the Special Olympics.
"She was the light of our lives, a mother, wife, grandmother, sister and aunt who taught us by example and with passion what it means to live a faith-driven life of love and service to others," the Shriver family said Tuesday in a statement.
"For each of us, she often seemed to stop time itself -- to run another Special Olympics Games, to visit us in our homes, to attend to her own mother, her sisters and brothers, and to sail, tell stories, and laugh and serve her friends."
No final decision has been made on funeral arrangements, a source close to the family said.
Shriver's husband, R. Sargent Shriver, and her five children and their spouses and all of her 19 grandchildren were with her when she died, the Special Olympics said in a statement.
"We are tremendously grateful for the extreme outpouring of support and prayer from the public as we honor our beloved founder," Brady Lum, Special Olympics president and chief operating officer, said in a statement Tuesday.
"Today we celebrate the life of a woman who had the vision to create our movement. It is an enormous loss, but I know we can rest assured that her legacy will live on through her family, friends, and the millions of people around the world who she touched and transformed."
Even before launching the Special Olympics in 1968, Shriver had established a reputation as an advocate for the disenfranchised and a trailblazer for the rights of the disabled through a variety of roles in the private and public sector.
She also persuaded the Kennedy family to go public with one of its most guarded secrets. In September 1962, Shriver wrote an article about her mentally disabled sister, Rosemary, which was published in The Saturday Evening Post.
At an event honoring her in 2007, Shriver spoke of her life: "Most people believe I spent my whole life really interested in only one thing and that one thing is working to make the world a better place for people with intellectual disabilities.
"As important as it has been, it is not the whole story of my life. My life is about being lucky as a child to be raised by parents who loved me and made me believe in possibilities. It is also about being lucky to have had these extraordinary children. ... It is also about being especially lucky to have a wonderful husband."
At the same event, Edward Kennedy paid tribute to his sister, saying she had inherited the best qualities from his parents, including compassion. "She had that sense no one should be left out or left behind. She picked this up, obviously, at a very early age. All of us could see that special relationship that Eunice had with Rosemary."
After receiving a degree in sociology from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, Shriver worked for the U.S. State Department in the Special War Problems Division from 1943 to 1945, helping former prisoners of war readjust to civilian life.
From 1947 to 1948, she worked for $1 at the Department of Justice as executive secretary for the National Conference on Prevention and Control of Juvenile Delinquency.
In the early 1950s, she was a social worker at a federal prison for women in West Virginia and in juvenile court in Chicago, Illinois.
She married Robert Sargent Shriver Jr., a World War II veteran who was building his career as a lawyer and lifelong public servant, in 1953. The couple's five children include California's first lady, Maria Shriver.
Sargent Shriver had roles in many top government initiatives of the 1960s, including Head Start and the Peace Corps. He also worked with his wife on the Special Olympics. He ran President Johnson's War on Poverty and was U.S. ambassador to France from 1968 to 1970. He was Democrat George McGovern's running mate in the 1972 presidential election.
In 1957, Eunice Shriver became executive vice president of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, which was established in 1946 to honor the family's eldest son -- who was killed in World War II -- to research the causes of disabilities and to improve the treatment of disabled people.
Her work with the foundation paved the way for a number of initiatives furthering the cause of disability advocacy. In 1962 she helped establish the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, a government agency that conducts research on topics related to the health of children, adults and families that was named after Shriver in 2008.
Disturbed by the treatment of disabled people in institutions across the country in the 1950s and 1960s, Shriver began inviting disabled children to a summer day camp, called Camp Shriver, on her farm in Maryland. Her vision expanded over the years, and in July 1968 the first International Special Olympics Games were held in Chicago.
She also assisted in the establishment of a network of university-affiliated facilities and intellectual disabilities research centers at major medical schools across the United States, including centers for the study of medical ethics at Harvard and Georgetown universities in 1971.
In 1981, Shriver began the Community of Caring program to reduce disabilities among babies of teenagers. That led to the establishment of Community of Caring programs in 1,200 public and private schools from 1990 to 2006.
Along the way, Shriver earned worldwide accolades and awards, including the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame's Founder's Award and nine honorary degrees.
In 1995, the U.S. Mint issued a commemorative coin with her portrait. The Mint says that made her the first living woman to be depicted on an American coin.
In 2009, a painting of Shriver with several Special Olympians was added to the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery.
Her health began to fail in recent years, landing her in the hospital in 2005 after a minor stroke and hip fracture. She was hospitalized again in 2007 for an undisclosed ailment.
In addition to her husband and daughter, Shriver is survived by her sons Robert Sargent Shriver III, Timothy Perry Shriver, Mark Kennedy Shriver and Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver.

[Chevyheaven]

Thanks Eunice for the past 88 years they were the best. I loved being apart of your special Olympics. I won many awards. im glad you invented it. Ok well bye.

[simon69]

http://www.eunicekennedyshriver.org/

[simon69]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=9136962

[ChargerBill]

RIP, Eunice

[Batmama]

The Special Olympics were a very positive experience for my daughter. Thank you Mrs. Shriver for making the world a better place for so many special people.

[BAGOBONES]

wow i never knew she created special olympics.
i would say rest in peace but im sure she doesnt give a shit what I say.

[hotmama]

she lived to be 88 years old and her life not death should be celebrated. she did some great things in her life which helped other. her daughter looks exactly like her. i think the kennedy women did not do well in the looks department. all the children looked like their mother rose. but looking like rose was a better look for the boys.. but looks are not everything ad what she did in life made up for everything. she had a college degree, started the special olympics, she was loved by her family. there is nothing greater than that.. she will be missed.. beauty fades but brains last much, much, longer.

[Valerie]

RIP, Eunice

I've never seen that photo of her. Wowser, she looked exactly like Jack and Bobby.

RIP Eunice.

[RubySlippers]

I've never seen that photo of her. Wowser, she looked exactly like Jack and Bobby.

RIP Eunice.

makes you wonder how her brothers mighta turned out. ick.
i just don't think they were a very handsome family. i don't see why everyone was so ga ga over them.

[Impatience]

i think the men were okay... the women, unfortunately, looked like the men.... and hence, the problem.

[Luanne]

John-John was good looking, but that had A LOT to do with Jackie.

I had no idea Eunice started the Special Olympics. I always think of the "E" Kennedy as Ethel Kennedy. I always forgot about Eunice.

[RubySlippers]

Nope. Don't see it.

[cindyt]

makes you wonder how her brothers mighta turned out. ick.
i just don't think they were a very handsome family. i don't see why everyone was so ga ga over them.

All that money and all that tragedy.

RIP Eunice.

[Nicki]

RIP...Did alot of excellent work during her life. Truely a Servant of the people.

[DJ's_Hub-Hag]

Another Kennedy gone and that's always sad. But at least she had a long and fulfilling life and died a natural death. I've been fascinated with the Kennedy family since I was a teenager. I even made up a Kennedy Family tree in the 1980's (and still have it--with updates). I detested the patriach Joseph Kennedy but have a lot or respect for Eunice (and her daughter Maria). She's in God's embrace now.

[crazedfemale]

OK, me too, I've always been fascinated by them, good or bad. One of my favorite photos of the Kennedy family, circa 1937. Sadly only Jean and Ted survive.

[DivineDeath]

RIP Eunice, I hope you found your brothers and your nephew up there.

[cindyt]

They aren't perfect, to say the least, but I have always been fascinated by them and read everything about them I can get my hands on. They had it all, but none of what they had could buy some of them time, which is the most valuable thing a man has.

[sheri]

While my kids never got to participate in the Special Olympics, I am grateful Ms. Shriver founded this organization. I mean, why should only those with no disabilities be able to participate in such games? Aren't the disabled also part of the human race? At least Ms. Shriver thought so of the latter question, thus the Special Olympics. I'm sure her one sister (can't remember her name) that was disabled was part of if not wholly the reason for this (Special Olympics).

The only thing that's keeping Ted alive so long is that he's well preserved due to his alcoholism. Sad really, to come from such a family, and so much tragedy.

RIP, Ms. Shriver. Godspeed, bright blessings, thank you for founding the Special Olympics. May your journey be comfortable and free of incident.

[Layla331]

RIP Eunice, I hope you found your brothers and your nephew up there.

and all your sisters and nieces too..there are just soooo many gone

[Vamp]

RIP, Eunice!

[sfcitygirl]

This was one "celeb" death I was actually very sad about. She seemed like a great lady and she did a lot of good. Eunice will be very missed.
And I have to say, I'm absolutely shocked that she went before Ted.

[Heavenly Tiger]

She did a good job and lived a long life. May she rest in peace.

[Nicki]

She did a good job and lived a long life. May she rest in peace.

Same here...she will be missed. I think Ted has lost his ability to speak.
The type of brain cancer is known to affect that area of the brain. Also explains why he hasn't been to the Senate in so long and did not go to the hospital while Eunice was there. Nice that his family takes him out on his Sailboat Mya so often. This video was taken this week I believe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsjSJufGh8w&feature=channel

[djdeath-hag]

Perhaps it is an odd blessing that Sargent is unaware of the death of his wife of 55+ yrs. There has to be some benefit to Alzheimers.

[Karma]

RIP Eunice.

[djdeath-hag]

In effort to semi-correct my earlier statement, I noted that Sargent did attend today's funeral....even though he seemed to be basically under the guidance/care of his assigned "handler", the Governator. I thought that it was touching that her kids & some of her grandkids served as pallbearers & that many of them were aloud to eulogize her.

I found it kind of sad that her last surviving brother, Teddy (who many here wish excruciatingly extended painful death) was not able to attend...and that his wife & ex wife both were there. I also found it "odd" that Oprah & her special friend, Gayle King attended.