Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away early on Tuesday morning after a series of strokes at Cape Cod Hospital in Massachusetts.
Sister of President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert Kennedy, the Democratic legend is credited with helping change society’s perceptions of the mentally disabled and founding the Special Olympics.
In 1984, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work with children and her programs aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy and substance abuse.
“She set out to change the world and to change us, and she did that and more. She founded the movement that became Special Olympics, the largest movement for acceptance and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities in the history of the world,” said a statement given by her family. “Her work transformed the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the globe, and they in turn are her living legacy.”
Eunice Kennedy Shriver was 88 years old.
She will be greatly missed.
[Image via WENN.]
