Early this morning, friends and family of Ethel Kennedy gathered at Our Lady of Victory parish on Cape Cod to honor the memory of the Kennedy family matriarch. According to WCVB, the service was a private affair, closed to the public and members of the media. Ethel Kennedy, who passed away last Thursday at the age of 96 after a stroke, left behind a lasting legacy as a social activist and widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.
The guest list included notables such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Joseph Kennedy II, Joseph Kennedy III, Sen. Ed Markey, and Rep. Jim McGovern. Notably, Ethel Kennedy met her husband Robert when she was just 17 and was introduced through his sister Jean. The couple wed in 1950, and Ethel's life was irrevocably altered with his assassination in 1968, after which she vowed never to remarry, a promise she fulfilled.
NBC Boston reported that aside from her advocacy, Ethel founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights to continue her husband's work. Despite the many tragedies the family faced, including the assassinations of her husband and brother-in-law, President John F. Kennedy, the deaths of two of her eleven children, and other family losses, Ethel Kennedy's spirit remained anchored by her deep Catholic faith and her commitment to her family.
Her dedication to social causes was nationally acknowledged when President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014. In a statement obtained by WCVB, Obama praised Kennedy for touching "the lives of countless people around the world with her generosity and grace" and described her as "an emblem of enduring faith and hope, even in the face of unimaginable grief." Ethel Kennedy, whose presence was a powerful symbol of resilience and compassion, leaves behind a family legacy that stretches across the political and social spectrum of American life.
