Obit: Eunice Kennedy Shriver--August 11, 2009

Subject: Obit: Eunice Kennedy Shriver--August 11, 2009
From: catspaw49
Date: 11 Aug 09 - 09:31 AM

A great and grand lady and perhaps the very best representative of her family. What she established in Special Olympics will be her greatest legacy. Thank you for that Mrs. Shriver from a family that has been the recipient of your ideas, work, and financial contributions.

CNN Obit

Spaw

Subject: RE: Obit: Eunice Kennedy Shriver--August 11, 2009
From: Ebbie
Date: 11 Aug 09 - 10:10 AM

My thanks to her, also. Without her, 'special' kids and their parents would have an even tougher row to hoe.

Subject: RE: Obit: Eunice Kennedy Shriver--August 11, 2009
From: gnu
Date: 11 Aug 09 - 10:12 AM

Indeed! RIP.

Subject: RE: Obit: Eunice Kennedy Shriver--August 11, 2009
From: jeffp
Date: 11 Aug 09 - 10:30 AM

I had two encounters with Eunice Shriver, one face-to-face and the other at a slight remove.

When I was a kid, the Shrivers lived nearby. One weekend afternoot, Mrs. Shriver came walking up the street by the playground where we were playing football. She asked if she could join us, and we agreed, though we thought it strange that a woman our mothers' age dressed in a smart suit would want to play touch football with a bunch of boys. The lady had a very nice pass and really had a good time for the few minutes she could spare with us. Very classy.

Many years later, I was doing some freelance graphic design work and did a brochure job for an agency working with individuals with developmental disabilities. We worked very hard to make it both attractive and informative, not an easy job when you are presenting dry statistics. After it was published, my agency contact sent me a copy of a letter they received from Eunice Shriver praising their brochure for its clarity and interest. I treasure that letter to this day.

She was truly a great lady.

Subject: RE: Obit: Eunice Kennedy Shriver--August 11, 2009
From: open mike
Date: 11 Aug 09 - 11:30 AM

Was she the mother of the "first lady" of Calif.
(Maria Shriver -- Mrs. Arnold Schwartzenegger)

The Kennedy family has sure been influential.

Subject: RE: Obit: Eunice Kennedy Shriver--August 11, 2009
From: LilyFestre
Date: 11 Aug 09 - 11:35 AM

Mike,

   Yes.

Michelle

Subject: RE: Obit: Eunice Kennedy Shriver--August 11, 2009
From: maeve
Date: 11 Aug 09 - 11:42 AM

Thanks for the memories posted here.

maeve

Subject: RE: Obit: Eunice Kennedy Shriver--August 11, 2009
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 11 Aug 09 - 02:28 PM

The New York Times has a fine article about her.

an excerpt:

Mrs. Shriver's official efforts on behalf of people with developmental challenges began after she became the executive vice president of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation in 1957. The foundation was established in 1946 as a memorial to her oldest brother, who was killed in World War II. Under Mrs. Shriver's direction, it focused on the prevention of mental retardation and improving the ways in which society deals with people with intellectual disabilities.

"In the 1950s, the mentally retarded were among the most scorned, isolated and neglected groups in American society," Edward Shorter wrote in his book "The Kennedy Family and the Story of Mental Retardation." "Mental retardation was viewed as a hopeless, shameful disease, and those afflicted with it were shunted from sight as soon as possible."

The foundation was instrumental in the formation of President Kennedy's Panel on Mental Retardation in 1961, development of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (which is now named for Mrs. Shriver) in 1962, the establishment of a network of mental retardation research centers at major medical schools across the United States in 1967 and the creation of major centers for the study of medical ethics at Harvard and Georgetown in 1971.

In 1968, the foundation helped plan and provided financing for the First International Special Olympics Summer Games, held at Soldier Field in Chicago that summer [just weeks after Robert Kennedy was shot].

--

~ Becky in Long Beach

Subject: RE: Obit: Eunice Kennedy Shriver--August 11, 2009
From: Ebbie
Date: 11 Aug 09 - 03:09 PM

And there's even more to it than that. One of her sisters was born 'special' and was given a lobotomy later in life. Sad story.

Subject: RE: Obit: Eunice Kennedy Shriver--August 11, 2009
From: jeffp
Date: 11 Aug 09 - 03:35 PM

Yes. The sister, Rosemary, was Eunices inspiration for creating the Special Olympics.

Subject: RE: Obit: Eunice Kennedy Shriver--August 11, 2009
From: catspaw49
Date: 11 Aug 09 - 06:04 PM

Jeff, that was a wonderful story and I'm glad you posted it....a very special memory.....well, two actually.

She was just special person in her times. I think that while we often make the wealthy the butt of jokes and the women even worse, the truth is much different. I wonder if Eleanor Roosevelt was any inspiration to her as well as her own mother? I've noticed that Caroline has often spoken well of her and as a sort of hero.....and in later years here, Caroline has shown much of the same spirit of community involvement that Eunice did. It would be nice to think that perhaps a few young people would look at her life and say, "I want to be like that!"

Just rambling I guess.............But it would please the hell out of me that when the next "Great American Women" book comes out, it will have a large chapter devoted to her.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Obit: Eunice Kennedy Shriver--August 11, 2009
From: Arkie
Date: 11 Aug 09 - 09:05 PM

She is one of the finest examples of someone who uses their celebrity, wealth, and position in ways that benefit society and in particular those who have no power to care for themselves. Someone whose religious faith and family influenced her in positive and profound ways. To Mrs. Shriver and a life well lived.

Subject: RE: Obit: Eunice Kennedy Shriver--August 11, 2009
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Aug 09 - 11:13 AM

The Diane Rehm show on NPR just did an hour discussion of Mrs. Shriver and her Special Olympics work.

Diane Rehm Show on WAMU.FM. Look for the first hour of the August 12, 2009 programs.

SRS