JFK's sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver dies at 88
 

HYANNIS, Mass. – 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 the mentally disabled, died Tuesday morning, her family said in a statement. She was 88.

Shriver had suffered a series of strokes in recent years and died at 2 a.m. at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis. The hospital is near the Kennedy family compound, where her sole surviving brother, Sen. Edward Kennedy, has been battling a brain tumor.

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I always found it interesting how she got involved with the Special Olympics, and how her parents' decision regarding her sister influenced her life. She was always a big presence in Boston, and I'm sure her death is hitting people pretty hard in the city (as well as around the Commonwealth).

I have always admired Eunice Shriver. She took up the cause of mental retardation and other special needs when many people were still stigmatized by it and literally ran with it. The United States has lost a Great Lady with her passing.

She was a phenomenal woman. :)