Senator Ted Kennedy Eulogized: Teddy Kennedy Jr.'s and Obama's Eulogies

At the funeral Saturday, August 29, for Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy, who died Tuesday, August 25 from brain cancer, several people stood up to give eulogies for the Massachusetts senator.

President Barack Obama's Eulogy

According to the Chicago Tribune, President Barack Obama decided the focus of his eulogy for Senator Ted Kennedy would be about who he was as a person, a personal message. Obama's eulogy talked about Kennedy's impact as a friend, legislator, mentor, colleague and family member.

In Obama's eulogy, he said that Senator Ted Kennedy's giving heart is what he will miss. He said Kennedy was always the first to express condolences, well wishes, or extend offers of his personal assistance.

Obama went on in his eulogy to describe Senator Ted Kennedy as a man who sent thank you cards, birthday wishes, and his own paintings to people who wouldn't imagine that a "U.S. senator of such stature would take the time to think about someone like them."

According to EarthTimes.org, Obama called Senator Edward Kennedy the "greatest legislator of our times." During Obama's eulogy, he said, "He was given the gift of time that his brothers were not, and he used that gift to touch as many lives and right as many wrongs as the years would allow."

Father J. Donald Monan's Eulogy for Senator Kennedy

Father J. Donald Monan, a Kennedy family friend, presided over the funeral for Senator Ted Kennedy. According to EarthTimes.org, Monan called Kennedy a "towering strength to his family and a towering presence on the American landscape."

Teddy Kennedy Jr.'s Eulogy for his father

From personal experience, I know that speaking at your father's funeral is one of the most difficult situations in a child's life. According to RightPundits.com, Teddy Kennedy Jr.'s eulogy talked about the family name and the type of person his father, Senator Edward Kennedy, was.

During Ted Kennedy Jr.'s eulogy, he told stories about him and his father sledding after Teddy lost his leg due to childhood cancer. He said, "Although it hasn't been easy at times to live with this name, I have never been more proud of it than I am today."

Ted Kennedy Jr.'s eulogy also spoke of the type of man Senator Edward Kennedy was. "He was not perfect, far from it. But my father believed in redemption and he never surrendered. Never stopped trying to right wrongs, be they the results of his own failings or of ours."

Sources:

"For Obama, a sea of inspiration for Kennedy eulogy", Chicago Tribune

"Kennedy eulogized at final farewell", EarthTimes.org

"Teddy Kennedy Jr. Eulogy: Ted Kennedy Funeral," RightPundits.com