CCB MEDIA PHOTO of Joan Kennedy in 2015 at the dedication of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Boston.
BOSTON (AP) — Joan Kennedy, the first wife of the late Senator Edward Kennedy, has died.
She died Wednesday at the age of 89.
Joan Kennedy endured the assassinations of two brothers-in-law and stood by her husband through the Chappaquiddick scandal, as well as through his failed 1980 run for president. The couple divorced in 1982.
She worked for the mentally challenged and other causes but also struggled with mental health issues and alcoholism herself for much of her life, including several drunk driving arrests.
Her son Patrick Kennedy praised her as a classically trained pianist, and advocate for addiction recovery who helped break stigma and inspired others to seek help.
Her death comes about a year after Ethel Kennedy, the wife of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, died at the age of 96, having raised their 11 children after he was assassinated, and remaining dedicated to social causes and the family’s legacy for decades thereafter.
In a 1992 Associated Press interview, she recalled playing piano for brother-in-law Bobby when he ran for president in 1968. “He took me with him and encouraged me,” she said. “He had a theme, ‘This Land Is Your Land,’ the Woody Guthrie song. I’d play that on the piano and everybody would come in, feeling really great about everything.”
“It seems like a long time ago, but it’s part of my memories,” she said, while promoting a book she wrote, which was a guide to appreciating classical music.
She also talked in the interview about how music helped her get through some difficult times, including the deaths of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, when her son Ted Jr. lost his leg to cancer and her separation and divorce from Ted Kennedy.
“I do advise listening to music when you’re in grief,” she said. “Music has give me a lot of courage to carry on.”
By MICHAEL CASEY, The Associated Press
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