The Kennedy Family: Remembering Ted and Some of Their More Recent Losses

The face of a younger Ted Kennedy in his better days has begun to flood the news, the dated pictures reminding us of how long he has served this country as a Senator. After surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, he has lost his fifteen month battle with brain cancer and has died at the age of 77 in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. This bleak news comes on the heels of his sister's death, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, on August 11th. America's fascination with the Kennedy family has always been one laced with heartache and tempered with reality. And this day is no different. We feel that same great sense of loss with these two most recent deaths as we have in previous years as we have watched tragedy unfold from afar. Though not as untimely as some of the other deaths in this family, they nevertheless serve as reminders of a long line of unfortunate events.

From Ted to Eunice to John, the last ten years have continued much in the same way as the ones before: filled with great successes as well as great losses. In 1999 we learned the fate of John Kennedy Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette who died when their small plane crashed into the Atlantic. Not as much in the spotlight, but occurring during that same summer was the death of Anthony Radziwill, cousin of John Kennedy Jr., which was beautifully portrayed in The New York Times Bestseller, What Remains, by his wife, Carole Radziwill. In a cruel turn of circumstances, she is forced to face that deaths of John Kennedy, Jr. and her friend Carolyn while her husband is dying. This heartbreaking tale of a fight with cancer mixed privilege and tragic circumstances slowly unfolds in an intimate way. Alone and widowed, Carole recounts that summer of her personal loss, allowing us a peep into the window of this family as one of the survivors.

With heads held high, one of their most evident attributes is that the Kennedy family has never allowed disaster to come in the way of their service to our country and we have admired them all the more because of that character amidst their pain. This day, as many have before, saddens us and reminds us once again that the Kennedys too, are mortal and subject to death and dying, though they served in ways that will always be remembered by the American people, both from up close and from afar.

Sources:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32491712/?gtl=43001

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/08/14/2009-08-14_maria_shriver_remembers_.html

What Remains, A Memoir of Fate, Friendship & Love, Carole Radziwill