Jackie's relationships with the other Kennedy women didn't start out on the right note (they made fun of her "babykins" voice, large feet and caviar and wine picnic lunches). With time, however, they grew closer and their grief at Jackie's death as captured in photos taken the day of her funeral is palpable. Remembering her sister-in-law, Eunice Kennedy Shriver spoke these words: “For us-and to my wonderful and big, extended family-Jackie always reminded us that loyalty to one another was to be fiercely practiced and protected. To America, she embodied the beauty of art, of music, of design, and, more than anything, the beauty of family. These were her gifts to us and to the world...”
Eunice Shriver died early this morning surrounded by her husband, children and grandchildren. I hadn't really thought much about it before but she was one of the last three living children of Joe and Rose Kennedy. Now, only Jean Kennedy Smith and Senator Ted Kennedy remain along with a handful of surviving spouses--Ethel (Bobby), Sargent (Eunice), Joan and Victoria (Ted).
Barbara Gibson, Rose Kennedy's secretary, profiled Eunice in her book "Life with Rose Kennedy" and I think parts of it are worth sharing: "Eunice was the one most like her mother and they were very close. Eunice's need to stay active every waking moment of her life struck others as obsessive. It was as if she were competing not really with others, but with something inside herself; it seemed she was trying to prove something to herself all the time.....Nonetheless, she was always a devoted daughter and excellent mother who was never fazed by life. When she was running late one Sunday morning and Rose left for Mass without her, Eunice walked out onto Ocean Boulevard (this was in West Palm Beach) and stopped traffic until she found a ride. The driver who took her to church was dumbfounded; Eunice didn't give it a second thought."
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