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Joan Kennedy cause of death update: How did Ted Kennedy's first wife die? All on health issues
Joan Bennett Kennedy, the former wife of Sen Edward M Kennedy, has died. She was 89.
Joan Bennett Kennedy, the former wife of Sen Edward M Kennedy, has died. She was 89. She was one of the last remaining members of a family generation that included President John F Kennedy. A model and classically-trained pianist, she married Ted Kennedy in 1958.
Bennett died at her home in Boston, according to GoLocalProv's obituary. She was born on September 2, 1936, in Bronxville, New York, to a Roman Catholic family. She met Ted Kennedy at a 1957 dedication at Manhattanville College and married him on November 29, 1958, in a small ceremony.
The couple had three children: Kara (1960–2011, who died of a heart attack after battling lung cancer), Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy Jr. (born 1961, who lost part of his right leg to bone cancer at age 12; and Patrick (born 1963, a former Rhode Island congressman and mental health advocate).
Joan Bennett Kennedy cause of death and health updates
Joan endured profound challenges, including Ted's chronic back pain from a 1964 plane crash and the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident, which left Mary Jo Kopechne dead and Joan bedridden after miscarriages. As of now, no official cause of death has been declared.
Kennedy's health struggles, particularly with alcoholism, became public in the 1970s amid Ted's infidelities and political ambitions. She sought treatment multiple times, including at Hazelden Betty Ford in 1978, and was placed under court-ordered guardianship by her children in the early 2000s due to her condition. By 2005, she achieved sobriety, a milestone she credited with her advocacy for mental health and addiction services. Despite the 1982 divorce after 24 years, Joan remained a Kennedy, attending events like the 1979 JFK Library dedication and supporting her ex-husband's campaigns. She earned a master’s in musical education from Lesley University and performed with orchestras worldwide, authoring The Joy of Classical Music (1992).
Surviving Joan are her sons Ted Jr. and Patrick, nine grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and sister Candace McMurrey.
