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JFK's sister Eunice Shriver dies | JFK's sister Eunice Shriver dies |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of President John F Kennedy and founder of the Special Olympics, has died aged 88. | Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of President John F Kennedy and founder of the Special Olympics, has died aged 88. |
She died at Cape Cod hospital in Massachusetts on Tuesday morning, her family said in a statement. | She died at Cape Cod hospital in Massachusetts on Tuesday morning, her family said in a statement. |
Mrs Shriver organised the first Special Olympic Games in 1968, partly inspired by her mentally disabled sister, Rosemary Kennedy. | |
She is credited with helping to transform views of the mentally disabled through her campaigns. | She is credited with helping to transform views of the mentally disabled through her campaigns. |
President Barack Obama said he was saddened at the death of Mrs Shriver, calling her a "champion" for disabled people. | |
Mrs Shriver had been in critical condition at Cape Cod hospital since last week. | |
Her diagnosis was not given, but she had suffered a series of strokes in recent years. | Her diagnosis was not given, but she had suffered a series of strokes in recent years. |
Mrs Shriver is the mother of TV host Maria Shriver, who is married to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. | |
Mrs Shriver's brother, Sen Edward Kennedy, is battling brain cancer that was diagnosed last year. | |
'Moral force' | |
Mrs Shriver was the fifth of nine children of Joseph P Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. | |
After earning a degree in sociology from Stanford University in 1943, she became a social worker at a women's prison before taking a job at the Chicago juvenile court. | |
She was the light of our lives Shriver family statement | |
In 1957 she took over the Joseph P Kennedy Jr Foundation for the mentally disabled. | |
The Special Olympics grew from a summer camp at Mrs Shriver's home in Maryland in 1962. | |
They were designed to give opportunities to people with mental disabilities to be considered athletes in their own right. | |
The first Games were held in 1968 in Chicago. Lasting two days, they attracted more than 1,000 participants from 26 US states and Canada. | |
Recent summer Games have drawn thousands of athletes from more than 160 countries. | |
Peter Collier, who wrote The Kennedys, an American Drama, described Eunice Shriver as the "moral force" of the Kennedy family. | |
Her family said: "She was the light of our lives... who taught us by example and with passion what it means to live a faith-driven life of love and service to others. | |
"We have always been honoured to share our mother with people of goodwill the world over who believe, as she did, that there is no limit to the human spirit." | |
Mrs Shriver is survived by her husband Sargent Shriver - who served as JFK's first director of the Peace Corps and was George McGovern's vice-presidential running mate in 1972 - and her five children. |