U.S President Joe Biden is set to pay tribute to Ethel Kennedy at a memorial service in Washington on 10/18/24. The long-time human rights advocate and Kennedy family matriarch passed away about a week ago at the age of 96.
Ethel Kennedy wife of Robert F Kennedy (former U.S attorney general and senator who was killed while running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 68) established a human rights center to continue her husbands work. She didnt marry again and brought up her 11 children‚ facing many family tragedies along the way – plane crashes that took the lives of her parents brother and nephew‚ as well as the early deaths of several children grandchildren and a great-grandchild. The couple had also been devastated by the killing of his brother‚ President John F Kennedy in Dallas almost 61 years ago.
Biden described Ethel Kennedy as “an American icon – a matriarch of optimism and moral courage an emblem of resilience and service Devoted to family and country she had a spine of steel and a heart of gold that inspired millions of Americans“ in a statement after her death from stroke complications.
The Democratic president (who has relied on his faith during his own losses including the death of his son Beau) will speak at the Cathedral of St Matthew the Apostle in Washington – just a short distance from the White House.
A devout Roman Catholic Ethel Kennedy took up many causes championed by her late husband including:
- Fighting poverty
- Working for social justice
- Protecting the environment
She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom about 10 years ago.
Her daughter Kathleen Kennedy Townsend served as Marylands lieutenant governor while her son Joseph P Kennedy II represented Massachusetts in the U.S House of Representatives for six terms. Her grandson Joseph P Kennedy III is currently serving as special envoy to Northern Ireland after four two-year terms in the U.S House.
Her son Robert F Kennedy Jr a former independent presidential candidate and anti-vaccine advocate recently broke from his familys long Democratic ties to support Donald Trump.
Many members of the Kennedy clan have rejected his election politics and thrown their support behind the Democratic ticket now led by U.S Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden stepped aside roughly 3 months ago