Ethel Kennedy, Who Went From Greenwich To Head Of Nation's Most Famous Family, Dies At 96

Ethel Kennedy was wife to Robert "Bobby" Kennedy Sr., sister-in-law to President John F. Kennedy, and mother to 11 children, including former presidential nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

She suffered a stroke at her home last week, her grandson, former Rep. Joe Kennedy said on X, formerly Twitter. 

Ehtel Kennedy was born in Chicago but grew up in Connecticut, in Greenwich, where she would marry Robert Kennedy in 1950 at St. Mary's Catholic Church.

She was born into wealth and privilege, but her life was overshadowed by grief. Her parents died in a 1955 plane crash, NBC News reported. John F. Kennedy was gunned down eight years later followed by her husband Bobby's assassination in 1968. 

Two of her children also died young, with her son David's overdose in 1984 and Michael's skiing accident in 1997, NBC said. 

Despite this, Ehtel Kennedy carried on her husband's humanitarian efforts by founding the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation just months after his death, CBS News said. The organization funds public service projects around the globe. 

She pushed for gun reform and used her name and political connections to help other causes she believed in throughout her life. 

President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work in 2014. 

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