Ethel Kennedy’s life after husband RFK’s assassination as tragedy left her so heartbroken she refused to speak about him
ACTIVIST Ethel Kennedy never remarried or even spoke about her husband, Robert F. Kennedy, after his horrific assassination.
Kennedy died on Thursday at age 96 after a quiet life of raising 11 children and continuing the political dynasty.
The news was shared by her grandson, Joe Kennedy III, who said their “hearts are full of love.”
“She died this morning from complications related to a stroke suffered last week,” he said in a statement.
“Along with a lifetime’s work in social justice and human rights, our mother leaves behind nine children, 34 grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren, along with numerous nephews, all of whom love her dealer.
“Please keep her in your hearts and prayers.”
Kennedy is remembered for her esteemed history advocating for human rights, despite living through tragedy after tragedy.
On June 6, 1968, RFK was shot and killed in Los Angeles by Sirhan Sirhan as he campaigned for president.
He was 42, three months into his run, and his wife was four months pregnant with their 11th child, Rory.
In her late 20s, Kennedy also lost her parents to a tragic plane crash and saw her brother die in an airplane accident.
She suffered more loss, including the deaths of two children, David and Michael.
David suffered from heroin and alcohol addiction and was found dead in a New York City hotel room in 1984.
And Michael was just 39 years old when he died in a skiing accident in 1997.
ETHEL’S PAIN
Throughout it all, Kennedy remained a stalwart family member and a key figure of the so-called Camelot era.
The widow never remarried and dedicated her life to representing the Kennedy name, founding the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organization shortly after his assassination.
However, she always had trouble talking about her husband’s death, even in the final years of her life.
In the 2012 documentary Ethel, directed by her youngest child Rory, she appeared pained and confused when asked about the assassination.
Family's statement on Ethel Kennedy
It is with our hearts full of love that we announce the passing of our amazing grandmother, Ethel Kennedy.
She died this morning from complications related to a stroke suffered last week.
Along with a lifetime’s work in social justice and human rights, our mother leaves behind nine children, 34 grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren, along with numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom love her dearly.
She was a devout Catholic and a daily communicant, and we are comforted in knowing she is reunited with the love of her life, our father, Robert F. Kennedy; her children David and Michael; her daughter-in-law Mary; her grandchildren Maeve and Saoirse; and her great-grandchildren Gideon and Josie.
Please keep her in your hearts and prayers.
“Talk about something else,” she told her daughter abruptly.
Rory said she and the other kids were open about RFK’s deaths and talked about it with each other, but Kennedy never joined in.
“She doesn’t reflect back on these moments in the way we might imagine or do ourselves,” she told Vogue when the documentary was released.
“She kind of forges ahead and moves on.”
THE OTHER WIDOW
RFK’s assassination came years after his brother, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was fatally shot in his third year as president.
His wife, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, was inches away from her husband when he was struck in the head while they cruised in a convertible through Dallas, Texas, in 1963.
Though both women survived the horrors of watching a beloved spouse die, they went on to live far different lives.
In 1968, Onassis married Greek business tycoon Aristotle Onassis and worked as a book editor in New York City until her death.
Meanwhile, Kennedy was busy working as a single mother trying to raise 11 children.
She had a vice grip over her home and used tough love to help her children move on from the death of their father.
“I grew up without a father, and with a sadness for sure, not having him or knowing him,” Rory told The Guardian in 2018.
“I also grew up with family who had a real sense of gratitude for the life we have and for all the extraordinary gifts.
“There wasn’t a lot of tolerance for feeling like a victim or feeling sorry for yourself.”
DYNASTY LIVES ON
With nine surviving children, Kennedy’s political dynasty lives on.
Her son RFK Jr. ran in a longshot 2024 presidential bid and is now supporting Donald Trump’s third run.
Her eldest, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, spent two years as a deputy assistant attorney general of the US and became the first lieutenant governor of Maryland in 1995.
Other children have assisted their family members’ campaigns.
Following her husband’s assassination, Kennedy showed her strength by encouraging Americans to be brave in the face of adversity.
She said, “For anyone to achieve something, he must have to show a little courage.
“You’re only on this earth once. You must give it all you’ve got.”
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