Eunice Kennedy Shriver was perhaps best known for her role in the founding of the Special Olympics back in the 1960s. Eunice advocated for the rights of mentally disabled people for many years. Her efforts earned her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984 from then President Ronald Reagan.
Her life was not limited to the Special Olympics and advocating. She was also a founder of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, in addition to establishing hospitals and other health care centers across the United States.
Eunice's passion for advocating for the developmentally disabled stems from her family: her oldest sister, Rosemary Kennedy, was developmentally disabled. Her sister was institutionalized in her early twenties, and had little of the advantages Eunice was able to help secure for others like Rosemary.
Eunice was the sister of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. She worked John F. Jennedy during his bid for the presidency in 1960.
Eunice is survived by her five children, and her husband Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr.
Her daughter, Maria Shriver, is married to California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Maria carries on the Kennedy tradition of bettering the lives of others through her office as the First Lady of California. Her son, Timothy Shriver, follows in his mother's footsteps as Chairman and CEO of the Special Olympics. Also working to improve the lives of mentally disabled individuals is Anthony Shriver, founder of Best Buddies International. Mark Kennedy works for Save the Children.
While Eunice's passion lives on through her children, she will be missed by all of those whose lives she improved through her work.
In a statement from the Shriver family, they expressed their love of Eunice, and expanded on her devotion to the mentally disabled:
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.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver died at 88 in the Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
Image from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver website.