As family matriarch, Ethel Kennedy continued her husband's activism and gave the family the support they needed during the worst of times

“She had such a hard life, but she always lived it with dignity,” said Lynne Poyant, board member and former executive director of the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum, located near the Kennedy family estate on Cape Cod Ethel was alive. “Losing a husband, then children, and then others, it’s an incredible pain that I don’t think you can ever overcome.”

Kennedy, a Chicago native who grew up in prosperity in Greenwich, Connecticut, also lost her parents in a private plane crash in 1955.

Despite the recurring pain, Kennedy looked forward, sought constructive outlets for her energy and, according to observers who knew her, championed the progressive causes that had motivated her husband.

Brian Wright O'Connor, who worked with former U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, described the former congressman's mother as “an amazing, amazing woman.” When I think of her, three words come to mind: charismatic, compassionate and cacophonous.”

“She asked a lot of herself, her family and the world,” added O’Connor, a family friend. “She was funny and she was smart. She was concise and demanding. And she told you.”

Larry Tye, an author who interviewed Kennedy extensively for his book “Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon,” described her as an indispensable political adviser to her husband.

“Because she was so cheerful, it was easy to underestimate her intellectual abilities,” Tye said. “But every important decision Bobby had to make, whether it was whether it was whether it was whether it was whether it was whether it was whether to stay in politics” after the assassination of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, “or whether it was whether it was whether it was whether it was whether to seek the presidency in 1968, she knew “What it meant.” “The best for him, and it showed what he could do for the country.”

“I think her legacy is in many ways the same as Bobby’s,” Tye said. “She represented – and (family patriarch) Joe Kennedy saw this – the best of what the Kennedys wanted to achieve in politics.”

“We can only dream of what Bobby Kennedy could have been if he had lived,” Tye added. “But we don’t have to imagine him living out those values, because she did.”

U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, called Kennedy “a woman of true grace and courage, a dedicated matriarch and a supportive friend.” Ethel Kennedy's generosity extended beyond politics to her commitment to her family and her legacy “The men were a driving force.”

Markey credited her founding of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation in 1968, just months after Robert's assassination, as emblematic of her commitment to her husband's goals. Ethel's daughter, Kerry Kennedy, is now president of the organization.

“She ensured that her husband’s life’s work continued. She turned her personal tragedy into a lasting legacy of public service and global leadership,” Markey said. “Her mission will forever be felt beyond the shores of her beautiful home in Hyannis to the far corners of the world where her fight for human rights lives on.”

As a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Kennedy marched with union activists, joined picket lines and demonstrated in front of embassies.

The human rights organization Robert F. Kennedy said after Ethel's death that “few would have blamed her for giving up after her husband's death.” “Yet she steadfastly raised eleven children alone and instilled in them all a strong sense of faith, empathy, high spirits and, above all, courage.

“In her words: 'For someone to achieve something, they have to show a little courage.' You are only on this earth once. You have to give it everything you've got.'

“She definitely did.”

Wendy Northcross, executive director of the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum, said Ethel Kennedy remained the undisputed “queen,” if you will, of the family. It was the real focal point for family gatherings. She was the focal point.”

The family remained politically active. Joseph P. Kennedy II served in Congress from 1987 to 1999, and her grandson Joseph Kennedy III also represented Massachusetts from 2013 to 2021. Her daughter Kathleen Kennedy served as Lieutenant Governor of Maryland for eight years.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., her son, ran for president this year as an independent before dropping out and supporting former Republican President Donald Trump, a move condemned by the family.

Richard Neitz, former president of the JFK Hyannis Museum, remembered Ethel Kennedy as an unpretentious woman who insisted that visitors to the museum, including strangers, call her “Ethel” instead of “Mrs.” Kennedy” when she attended events there.

“When I think about her legacy, the first thing that comes to mind is the free spirit that she was,” Neitz said.

Kennedy would drive to the museum in an Audi convertible, Neitz said. Just this summer she was spotted aboard a family schooner in the waters off the site.

“She was funny, she was fearless and she was very smart,” Neitz said, adding that he last saw her at the museum about two years ago. Neitz said he showed her a photo taken at the 1960 Democratic National Convention that purportedly shows the moment when candidate John F. Kennedy told Robert about his choice of Texas Sen. Lyndon Johnson as his vice president.

Robert Kennedy had a contentious relationship with Johnson, who became president after the elder Kennedy was assassinated. Neitz said that when he told Ethel Kennedy the photo's backstory, she replied, “Well, I don't think so.” Bobby doesn’t look angry enough.”

Brian MacQuarrie can be reached at [email protected].