Joe, the congressman, was the charming one. His uncle, Ted, the senator, was the persuasive one. And Jackie, of course, was the regal one.
But if I had to pick a favorite Kennedy — and there have been a lot to choose from — it would have to be Ethel. Of all the Kennedys who have made the news for decades and generations, Ethel Kennedy, the widow of the slain New York Sen. Robert F.
Kennedy, struck me as the most down-to-earth. Down-to-earth, of course, is a relative description of a woman who was born into a wealthy family and married into one just as prosperous and far more prominent. But Ethel Skakel Kennedy, who died on Oct.
10 at the age of 96, had a way of stepping outside of whatever pretensions came with American royalty. “Ethel Kennedy was a dear friend with a passion for justice, an irrepressible spirit, and a great sense of humor,” former President Barack Obama, who awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014, said in a statement. “She touched the lives of countless people around the world with her generosity and grace, and was an emblem of enduring faith and hope, even in the face of unimaginable grief.
” I was honored to witness that generosity and grace firsthand. The occasion was a 30th anniversary celebration of the famous “Ripple of Hope” speech that RFK delivered in 1966 at South Africa’s University of Cape Town. “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sen.
