Free Republic

Two of the last three Kennedys have taken centre stage this week. Yesterday, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, died in Hyannis, Mass. Today, Senator Ted Kennedy is being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For the last of the Kennedy sons, aged 77 and suffering from brain cancer, the ceremony in Washington is something of a valedictory. After the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, the Kennedy family had two paths before it -- one represented by Eunice and her husband, Sargent, and the other by the last surviving brother, Ted.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 1921-2009 You are the stars and the world is watching you. By your presence you send a message to every village, every city, every nation. A message of hope. A message of victory. The right to play on any playing field? You have earned it. The right to study in any school? You have earned it. The right to hold a job? You have earned it. The right to be anyone's neighbor? You have earned it. ...Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 1987 Special Olympics World Games, South Bend, Indiana

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Although other members of the Kennedy family abandoned their pro-life beliefs as their political stock rose, Eunice Kennedy Shriver never did. And for that, pro-life advocates are mourning the passing of the woman who founded Special Olympics. Shriver died this morning at the age of 88 surrounded by her family and she is survived by her husband Sargent Shriver, a former Vice Presidential nominee.Together the Shrivers had five children and twenty-one grandchildren. Shriver, a lifelong pro-life Democrat, was the sister of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert Kennedy, and Senator Edward Kennedy.But she was honored by...