Eunice Kennedy Shriver

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Eunice Kennedy Shriver
BS)
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
​
(m. 1953)​
Children
Parents
RelativesKennedy family
Websiteeunicekennedyshriver.org
Signature

Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver DSG (July 10, 1921 – August 11, 2009) was an American philanthropist[1] and a member of the Kennedy family. She was the founder of the Special Olympics, a sports organization for persons with intellectual disabilities. For her efforts on behalf of disabled people, Shriver was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984.

She was a sister of U.S. President

United States Ambassador to France and the final Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1972. They had several children including broadcast journalist Maria Shriver
.

Early life, education, and early career

Eunice Mary Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on July 10, 1921.[2] She was the fifth of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., and Rose Fitzgerald.[3] Her siblings included U.S. President and Senator John F. Kennedy, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, and U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith.[4]

Eunice Kennedy was educated at the Convent of The Sacred Heart,

Federal Industrial Institution for Women for one year before moving to Chicago in 1951 to work with the House of the Good Shepherd women's shelter and Chicago Juvenile Court.[2]

Charity work and awards

See also: List of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
Shriver in 1980
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
was renamed in honor of Shriver.
Shriver speaks at March 3, 2008, ceremony in her honor

Shriver became executive vice president of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation in 1957.[2] She shifted the organization's focus from Catholic charities to research on the causes of intellectual disabilities, and humane ways to treat them.[5] This interest eventually culminated in, among other things, the Special Olympics movement.[7]

A long-time advocate for children's health and disability issues, Shriver championed the creation of the President's Panel on Mental Retardation in 1961. The panel was significant in the movement from institutionalization to

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), a part of the National Institutes of Health in 1962.[9]

In 1962, Shriver founded Camp Shriver, a camp for children with special needs that was held on her Maryland farm. Camp Shriver later evolved into the Special Olympics.[10] Shriver founded the Special Olympics in 1968.[11] That year, the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation helped to plan and fund the First International Special Olympics Summer Games, held in Chicago, Illinois. In her speech at the opening ceremony, Shriver said, "'The Chicago Special Olympics prove a very fundamental fact, the fact that exceptional children — children with mental retardation — can be exceptional athletes, the fact that through sports they can realize their potential for growth.'" Special Olympics Inc. was established as a nonprofit charity in 1968; since that time, nearly three million athletes have participated.[2]

In 1969, Shriver moved to France and pursued her interest in intellectual disability there. She started organizing small activities with Paris organizations, mostly reaching out to families of kids who had special needs to provide activities for them, laying the foundation for a robust international expansion of the Special Olympics in the late 1970s and 1980s.[12]

In 1982, Shriver founded the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Center for Community of Caring at

grades K-12, whole school, comprehensive character education program with a focus on disabilities... adopted by almost 1,200 schools nationwide and in Canada".[13][14]

Shriver was awarded the nation's highest civilian award, the

American Catholics, by the University of Notre Dame.[17] In 1990 Shriver was awarded the Eagle Award from the United States Sports Academy. The Eagle Award is the academy's highest international honor and was awarded to Shriver for her significant contributions to international sport.[18][19]

In 1992, Shriver received the Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an award given out annually by the Jefferson Awards for Public Service.[20]

For her work in nationalizing the Special Olympics, Shriver received the

better source needed] She is the second American and only woman to appear on a US coin while still living. Her portrait is on the obverse of the 1995 commemorative silver dollar honoring the Special Olympics. On the reverse is the quotation attributed to Shriver, "As we hope for the best in them, hope is reborn in us."[24][25][26][27]

In 1998, Shriver was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.[28]

Shriver received the 2002

papal countess in 1950 by Pope Pius XII.[32]

In 2008, she received the Foremother Award from the National Center for Health Research for her lifetime achievements.[33]

In 2008, the

Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition in 2006. As part of the Portrait Competition prize, the NPG commissioned a work from the winning artist to depict a living subject for the collection. Lenz, whose son, Sam, has Down syndrome and is an enthusiastic Special Olympics athlete, was inspired by Shriver's dedication to working with people with intellectual disabilities.[citation needed
]

Shriver became involved with

State University of New York at Brockport, home of the 1979 Special Olympics, renamed its football stadium the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium.[36]

In July 2017, Shriver posthumously received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2017 ESPY Awards.[37]

Political involvement

Shriver actively campaigned for her elder brother, John, during his successful 1960 U.S. presidential election.[38][39]

Although Shriver was a Democrat, she was a vocal supporter of the

Susan B. Anthony List, and Democrats for Life of America.[46]

Despite being a

2003 Governor of California election.[47][48]

On January 28, 2008, aged 86, Shriver was present at American University in Washington, D.C., when her brother, U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, announced his endorsement of Barack Obama's 2008 Democratic U.S. presidential campaign.[49]

Personal life

Shriver and husband, Sargent, in 1999

On May 23, 1953, aged 31, Shriver married

U.S. Ambassador to France from 1968 to 1970 and was the 1972 Democratic U.S. vice presidential candidate (with George McGovern as the candidate for U.S. President).[50][51] They had five children: Robert Sargent Shriver III, Maria Owings Shriver (Schwarzenegger), Timothy Perry Shriver, Mark Kennedy Shriver, and Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver.[52] Shriver had nineteen grandchildren.[53]

Shriver had a close relationship with her sister Rosemary Kennedy, who was intellectually disabled and who became incapacitated due to a lobotomy.[2]

Shriver suffered a stroke and broken hip in 2005.[54] On November 18, 2007, aged 86, she was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where she spent several weeks.[55][56]

Death

On August 7, 2009, Shriver was admitted to

Edward Moore Kennedy died on August 25, 2009, at the age of 77.[3][59]

Shriver's family issued a statement upon her death, reading in part:

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.[60]

President Barack Obama remarked after Shriver's death that she was "an extraordinary woman who, as much as anyone, taught our nation—and our world—that no physical or mental barrier can restrain the power of the human spirit."[61]

Funeral and burial

On August 14, 2009, an invitation-only

brain cancer, he was unable to attend the funeral, and their sister Jean Kennedy Smith stayed with him. Ted died two weeks later, leaving Jean as the sole surviving child of Joseph and Rose Kennedy until her death on June 17, 2020, at the age of 92.[64]

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b c d e f Baranauckas, Carla (August 11, 2009). "Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Influential Founder of Special Olympics, Dies at 88". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b Grinberg, Emanuella (n.d.). "Eunice Kennedy Shriver dies". CNN. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
  4. ^ "Eunice Kennedy Shriver's Death Leaves 2 Living Kennedy Siblings". Associated Press. March 25, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Smith, J.Y. (August 12, 2009). "Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics Founder, Dies at 88". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  6. ^ "John F. Kennedy's Residences". www.jfklibrary.org. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  7. ^ Nelson, Valerie; Mehren (August 12, 2009). "Eunice Kennedy Shriver dies at 88; Special Olympics founder and sister of JFK". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  8. ^ Braddock, D. (February 2010). Honoring Eunice Kennedy Shriver's legacy in intellectual disability. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 48(1): 63–72.
  9. ^ "Eunice Kennedy Shriver | JFK Library". www.jfklibrary.org. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  10. ^ Sun, Baltimore. "Maryland swimmers Michael Phelps and Becca Meyers win ESPY awards". baltimoresun.com.
  11. ^ "Eunice Kennedy Shriver's Olympic Legacy". NPR.
  12. ^ Cooper, Chet. "Timothy Shriver — Special Olympics". ABILITY Magazine. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  13. ^ "About Community of Caring" Archived March 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Center for Community of Caring. Undated. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
  14. ^ "Community of Caring Names University of Utah Its New National Headquarters - UNews Archive". archive.unews.utah.edu. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  15. ^ "Eunice Kennedy Shriver". DeseretNews.com. August 13, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ "Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medal of Freedom" Archived September 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Archives – Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. March 26, 1984. Accessed May 28, 2008.
  17. ^ "Laetare Acceptance Speech – Eunice Kennedy Shriver". www.eunicekennedyshriver.org. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  18. ^ "News 21/01/08 – FISU President Receives USSA Award". FISU. January 21, 2008. Archived from the original on July 2, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  19. ^ "Eunice Kennedy Shriver". JFK Hyannis Museum. May 20, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  20. ^ "National – Jefferson Awards Foundation". Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
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  26. ^ "Commemorative – Special Olympics". U.S. Mint. December 16, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  27. ^ "Eunice Kennedy Shriver Coin Details – Inspirational Ladies". Collectors Society. November 15, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  28. ^ "Shriver, Eunice Kennedy". National Women's Hall of Fame.
  29. ^ "Eunice Shriver recovers from hip surgery". CNN. August 21, 2002. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  30. ^ "2002 Teddy winner Shriver dies at 88". NCAA News. August 11, 2009. Archived from the original on August 11, 2009. Alt URL
  31. ^ Theodore, Bevin (August 11, 2009). "Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics and sister of John F. Kennedy, dies at 88". lehighvalleylive.com.
  32. ^ "Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy – John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum". www.jfklibrary.org.
  33. ^ "Foremother and Health Policy Hero Awards Luncheon". May 7, 2018.
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  35. ^ "Eunice Kennedy Shriver's legacy lives on with Special Olympics".
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  37. ^ "Special Olympics Founder Honored at The 2017 ESPYS". Archived from the original on July 18, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
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  41. ^ "Opinion | J.F.K. Would Have Defended Bishops' Right to Fight Abortion". The New York Times. May 13, 1990. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023.
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  44. ^ "'92 Democratic Convention : In Spotlight: Republican 'Defectors' : Abortion rights: Six women, saying that 'George Bush has abandoned us,' vow to vote for Clinton". Los Angeles Times. July 15, 1992. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023.
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  50. ^
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  51. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (January 18, 2011). "R. Sargent Shriver, Kennedy In-Law and Peace Corps Founding Director, Dies at 95". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023.
  52. ^ Allen, Mike (August 11, 2009). "Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 1921–2009". POLITICO. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022.
  53. ^ Grinberg, Emanuella (August 11, 2009). "Eunice Kennedy Shriver dies at 88". CNN. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022.
  54. ^ "Special Olympics torch lights Eunice Kennedy Shriver's funeral". CNN. August 14, 2009. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023.
  55. ^ "Eunice Kennedy Shriver Hospitalized". washingtonpost.com. Associated Press. November 25, 2007. Retrieved August 12, 2009.
  56. ^ Beggy, Carol and Mark Shanahan, "She's loyal to father's 'Ideal'", The Boston Globe, January 14, 2008. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
  57. ^ McGreevy, Patrick. "Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver at Eunice Shriver's bedside", Los Angeles Times. August 7, 2009. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
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  59. ^ Allen, Mike (August 11, 2009). "Eunice Kennedy Shriver dies". Politico. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
  60. ^ "Statement from The Shriver Family". Eunice Kennedy Shriver. August 11, 2009. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
  61. ^ Farr, Michael (August 11, 2010). "One year ago: Eunice Kennedy Shriver". Los Angeles Times.
  62. ^ "Special Olympians, Family Celebrate Eunice Kennedy Shriver" Archived August 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. The Associated Press (at WJAR television's website turnto10.com). August 14, 2009. Retrieved August 16, 2000.
  63. ^ "Pope's Letter to Kennedy-Shriver Family". Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
  64. ^ McMullen, Troy (August 26, 2009). "The Last Kennedy: A Closer Look at Jean Kennedy Smith". ABC News. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2009.

Further reading

  • Eileen McNamara (2018). Eunice: The Kennedy Who Changed the World. Simon & Schuster.
    ISBN 978-1451642261
    .

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Theodore Roosevelt Award (NCAA)

2002 		Succeeded by
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