A GRACIOUS LADY

“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;” (I Timothy 6:17-18)

I was not surprised to tune into the Noon news on Tuesday and learn that Eunice Kennedy Shriver had died. She had been hospitalized in critical condition and everybody knew her passing was just a matter of time. Even so, it was sad news and my condolences go out to the family and to all whose lives were touched in some way by Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

Like her brother, John F. Kennedy, Eunice was born at the family’s home in Brookline, Massachusetts (on July 10, 1921). She was the fifth of nine children in that very famous family. Eunice graduated from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California in 1943, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in sociology. She spent a number of years doing social work. In 1953, she married R. Sargent Shriver who later became U.S. Ambassador to France, and was the Democrat candidate for Vice-President 1972.

One news report this week quoted a biographer of Eunice Kennedy Shriver as indicating that when the lives and accomplishments of all that generation of Kennedys are weighted, including (of course) J.F.K., the actual accomplishments of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and the positive impact she made in the world may well be the greatest!

It was her love for and attention to her mentally retarded sister Rosemary that made advocating for and working with the mentally challenged a lifetime mission.
Eunice will probably be best remembered for helping found the Special Olympics in the 1960s. In 1968, she founded the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Center for Community of Caring at The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. President Ronald Reagan awarded her the nation's highest civilian award, the (U.S.) Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1984, recognizing her outstanding work on behalf of those with mental retardation.

This week, her son-in-law, Republican Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, stated that it was Eunice who got him involved in public service. She first convinced him to become a Coach for the Special Olympics, and the rest is history!

The Kennedys are one of those families that’s very polarizing- some LOVE them and some HATE them. It’s impressive to note that Eunice Kennedy Shriver transcended all that political stuff! Here’s a woman who genuinely cared...who wanted to make a difference in life...who didn’t just TALK....who didn’t just sit around and expect to be catered to...here’s a woman who loved, and gave and sacrificed and genuinely cared. This wealthy woman truly fulfilled the admonition to the rich round in the Bible passage above. She left a wonderful legacy.

When a great person passes on, I always have the same thought: who will take their place?