Lennon
08-13-09, 04:26 PM
She died on August 11th.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20090811/us-obit-eunice-kennedy-shriver/images/90cbd9eb-6a51-4c8c-9b89-cda5494f09c2.jpg
From the Associated Press:
Eunice Kennedy Shriver
HYANNIS, Mass. (AP) — President John F. Kennedy's sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a champion for the rights of the mentally disabled and founder of the Special Olympics, has died. She was 88.
Shriver had suffered a series of strokes in recent years and died at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis on Tuesday morning, her family said in a statement. The hospital is near the Kennedy family compound, where her sole surviving brother, Sen. Edward Kennedy, has been battling brain cancer.
Shriver also was the sister of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, the wife of 1972 vice presidential candidate and former Peace Corps director R. Sargent Shriver, and the mother-in-law of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Shriver was credited with transforming America's view of the mentally disabled from institutionalized patients to friends, neighbors and athletes. Her efforts were inspired by the struggles of her mentally disabled sister, Rosemary.
Realizing they were far more capable of playing sports than the experts said, Shriver in 1968 started what would become the world's largest athletic competition for the mentally disabled. The first Special Olympics — a two-day event in Chicago — drew more than 1,000 participants from 26 states and Canada.
Now more than 3 million athletes in more than 160 countries participate in Special Olympics. The games have given rise to countless uplifting stories of success against great odds.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20090811/us-obit-eunice-kennedy-shriver/images/90cbd9eb-6a51-4c8c-9b89-cda5494f09c2.jpg
From the Associated Press:
Eunice Kennedy Shriver
HYANNIS, Mass. (AP) — President John F. Kennedy's sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a champion for the rights of the mentally disabled and founder of the Special Olympics, has died. She was 88.
Shriver had suffered a series of strokes in recent years and died at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis on Tuesday morning, her family said in a statement. The hospital is near the Kennedy family compound, where her sole surviving brother, Sen. Edward Kennedy, has been battling brain cancer.
Shriver also was the sister of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, the wife of 1972 vice presidential candidate and former Peace Corps director R. Sargent Shriver, and the mother-in-law of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Shriver was credited with transforming America's view of the mentally disabled from institutionalized patients to friends, neighbors and athletes. Her efforts were inspired by the struggles of her mentally disabled sister, Rosemary.
Realizing they were far more capable of playing sports than the experts said, Shriver in 1968 started what would become the world's largest athletic competition for the mentally disabled. The first Special Olympics — a two-day event in Chicago — drew more than 1,000 participants from 26 states and Canada.
Now more than 3 million athletes in more than 160 countries participate in Special Olympics. The games have given rise to countless uplifting stories of success against great odds.