Aug 11, 2009 5:20 pm US/Eastern
Eunice Kennedy Shriver Dead At 88
HYANNIS (WBZ) ―
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Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of Sen. Ted Kennedy and founder of the Special Olympics has died. Shriver was 88.
The younger sister of John F. Kennedy had been hospitalized in Barnstable since last week, with members of her extended family gathering at her bedside.
Shriver died early Tuesday morning at Cape Cod Hospital, 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.
"She was the light of our lives, a mother, wife, grandmother, sister and aunt who taught us by example and with passion what it means to live a faith-driven life of love and service to others," the statement from her children read (full statement below).
Eunice Kennedy Shriver is survived by her husband, Sargent Shriver, five children and 19 grandchildren - all of whom were on the Cape in her final days.
Shriver had suffered a series of strokes in recent years, though there has been no official word on what led to her final hospitalization.
'A VISIONARY & PIONEER'
Eunice Kennedy Shriver is credited with transforming America's view of the mentally disabled from institutionalized patients to that of friends, neighbors and athletes. Her efforts were inspired in part by the struggles of her disabled sister, Rosemary. She founded the Special Olympics in 1968.
Read: JFK Library's bio on Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Special Olympics CEO Robert Johnson called Eunice Shriver a visionary and a pioneer.
"Individuals with Intellectual disabilities are living healthier, happier lives because of Mrs. Shriver's unwavering dedication," Johnson said in a statement shortly after her death. "If living, working and social conditions are better for people with intellectual disabilities and have improved over the past 45 years – and they have – we have Eunice Kennedy Shriver to thank. Her work will continue and her legacy will live on.
"Thanks to the determination of one woman, now nearly 3,000,000 athletes participate in 183 countries word wide."
KENNEDY FAMILY
Eunice Kennedy Shriver is the younger sister of President John F. Kennedy, and the older sibling of Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy.
"Eunice is now with God in heaven," Sen. Kennedy said in a written statement early Tuesday. "My sister Jean and I, and our entire family, will miss her with all our hearts. I know that our parents and brothers and sisters who have gone before are filled with joy to have her by their side again" (full statement below).
View: Kennedy Family Tree
Watch: Ted Kennedy on his sister, Eunice
In 1953 Eunice Kennedy married Robert Sargent Shriver, a 1972 vice presidential candidate and former Peace Corps director, and together they had five children. Her only daughter, Maria Shriver, is married to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Condolence books are available for the public to sign at the JFK Presidential Library in Dorchester, the Kennedy Museum in Hyannis, and at all Massachusetts Special Olympics offices.
SHRIVER FAMILY STATEMENT
"It's hard for us to believe: the amazing Eunice Kennedy Shriver went home to God this morning at 2 a.m.
She was the light of our lives, a mother, wife, grandmother, sister and aunt who taught us by example and with passion what it means to live a faith-driven life of love and service to others. For each of us, she often seemed to stop time itself - to run another Special Olympics games, to visit us in our homes, to attend to her own mother, her sisters and brothers, and to sail, tell stories, and laugh and serve her friends. How did she do it all?
Inspired by her love of God, her devotion to her family, and her relentless belief in the dignity and worth of every human life, she worked without ceasing - searching, pushing, demanding, hoping for change. She was a living prayer, a living advocate, a living center of power. She set out to change the world and to change us, and she did that and more. She founded the movement that became Special Olympics, the largest movement for acceptance and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities in the history of the world. Her work transformed the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the globe, and they in turn are her living legacy.
We have always been honored to share our mother with people of good will the world over who believe, as she did, that there is no limit to the human spirit. At this time of loss, we feel overwhelmed by the gifts of prayer and support poured out to us from so many who loved her. We are together in our belief that she is now in heaven, rejoicing with her family, enjoying the fruits of her faith, and still urging us onward to the challenges ahead. Her love will inspire us to faith and service always.
She was forever devoted to the Blessed Mother. May she be welcomed now by Mary to the joy and love of life everlasting, in the certain truth that her love and spirit will live forever."
SENATOR TED KENNEDY STATEMENT
"Eunice is now with God in heaven. My sister Jean and I, and our entire family, will miss her with all our hearts. I know that our parents and brothers and sisters who have gone before are filled with joy to have her by their side again.
My earliest memory of Eunice is of a young girl with great humor, sharp wit, and a boundless passion to make to make a difference. She understood deeply the lesson our mother and father taught us -- much is expected of those to much has been given.
Throughout her extraordinary life, she touched the lives of millions, and for Eunice that was never enough. The seeds of compassion and hope she planted decades ago in her backyard summer camp were inspired by her love for our sister Rosemary.
Over the years, she grew those seeds into a worldwide movement that has given persons with disabilities everywhere the opportunity to lead more productive and fulfilling lives. We would never have had an Americans with Disabilities Act without her.
Though the Special Olympics will be her enduring monument, in our family she'll be remembered as a loyal and loving sister, a treasured wife to Sarge, and a wonderful mother and grandmother. We will miss her deeply and we will always love her and cherish the beautiful memories of our years together. She was blessed with a long life, but for us that time was still too short."
PUBLIC WAKE INFORMATION:
A public wake will be held for Shriver at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville on Thursday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Her funeral will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at Saint Francis Xavier Church in Hyannis.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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