Eunice Kennedy Shriver dies aged 88

PRESIDENT John F Kennedy’s sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who carried on the family’s public service tradition by founding the Special Olympics and championing the rights of mentally disabled people, died early yesterday surrounded by relatives at a Hyannis hospital. She was 88.

Shriver had suffered a eries of strokes in recent years and died at Cape Cod Hospital, her family said in a statement. Her husband, her five children and all 19 of her grandchildren were by her side, the statement said.

“She was the light of our lives, a mother, wife, grandmother, sister and aunt who taught us by example and with passion what it means to live a faith-driven life of love and service to others,” the family said.