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Who was Joan Bennett Kennedy? Former wife of Sen. Ted Kennedy dies at 89 in Boston
Joan Bennett Kennedy, the wife of late US Senator Ted Kennedy, has died at the age of 89.
Joan Bennett Kennedy, the late US Senator Ted Kennedy's wife, passed away at the age of 89.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Massachusetts Democratic Party chairman Steve Kerrigan said she died quietly in her sleep at her Boston home on Wednesday.
Who was Joan Bennett Kennedy? A look at her family
Kennedy, who was married to Ted Kennedy for twenty-four years, raised three children with him: Patrick, Ted Jr., and Kara. She advocated for addiction and mental health services, taught music, and played the classical piano.
Before her 1958 marriage to Ted Kennedy, Joan Bennett was a model and a pianist with classical training. In the next 15 years, their lives witnessed a unimaginable change. After winning the presidency in 1960, brother-in-law John F. Kennedy was slain three years later. After serving as JFK's attorney general, brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy got elected to the U.S. Senate in 1964 and slain while running for president.
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While there were early concerns that her husband was abusing his family ties, he was elected to the U.S. Senate and rose to become one of the nation's most esteemed lawmakers. Ted Kennedy, however, also experienced scandals that he initiated.
In 1969, the car he was driving crashed off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, claiming life of his young female passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne.
In the 1970s, she helped break the stigma of addiction by being one of the first well-known women in America to openly discuss her battles with depression and alcoholism.
Kennedy is survived by two kids, Ted Kennedy Jr. and Patrick Kennedy, a former congressman from Rhode Island, as well as nine grandchildren, a great-grandchild, over thirty nieces and nephews, and a sister. Kara, her daughter, passed away in 2011.
Joan Bennett Kennedy's family pays tribute to her
“I will always admire my mother for the way that she faced up to her challenges with grace, courage, humility, and honesty,” Ted Kennedy Jr. paid a tribute to her mother in a formal statement. “She taught me how to be more truthful with myself and how careful listening is a more powerful communication skill than public speaking.”
“Besides being a loving mother, talented musician, and instrumental partner to my father as he launched his successful political career, Mom was a powerful example to millions of people with mental health conditions," Patrick Kennedy said. “She will be missed not just by the entire Kennedy Family, but by the arts community in the City of Boston and the many people whose lives that she touched.”
