Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Eunice Shriver (* July 10, 1921 in Brookline, Massachusetts; † August 11, 2009 on Cape Cod, Massachusetts; native Eunice Mary Kennedy) was a sister of John F., Robert F. and Edward Kennedy and an activist for people with disabilities.
Life
Eunice Kennedy was born the fifth child of Joseph and Rose Kennedy. She attended schools in England and studied at Manhattanville College and at Stanford University, graduating in 1943 with a bachelor's degree in sociology.
The disability of her older sister Rosemary Kennedy caused her, 1968, to call the world 's largest event for disabled sports, the Special Olympics to life. For her commitment Shriver many honors at home and abroad have been given, among other things, her portrait on a U.S. coin, the Special Olympics Silver Dollar mapped.
She was also involved in the " Community of Caring " program that aims to prevent teen pregnancy and worked energetically with the construction of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University and a similar institute at Harvard University.
She was married Jr. since May 23, 1953, Robert Sargent Shriver. This marriage produced five children:
- Robert Sargent Shriver III. (Born 1954 ), film producer
- Maria Owings Shriver ( b. 1955 ), journalist and ex-wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Timothy Shriver ( b. 1959 )
- Mark Kennedy Shriver ( b. 1964 )
- Anthony Shriver ( b. 1965 )
Although a member of the Democratic Kennedy family, she supported her Republican son Arnold Schwarzenegger in his election as Governor of California. After the death of her sister Rosemary in 2005, she was the oldest surviving member of the second generation of the Kennedy family.
In 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan Shriver presented the Medal of Freedom ("The Presidential Medal of Freedom" ), the highest civilian award in the United States. She also received the 2005 Grand Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria and the Great Golden Medal of Honour of the Province of Styria Award and in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI. appointed Dame of the Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great
After a series of strokes Shriver died in 2009 at the age of 88 years in a hospital on Cape Cod