Joan Bennett Kennedy, the first wife of late Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, has died in her Boston home at the age of 89.
Kennedy, born Joan Bennett, passed away peacefully in her sleep early Wednesday morning, a family spokesman confirmed.
She was was a model and classically-trained pianist when Ted’s older sister Jean Kennedy introduced the pair in 1957.
They were engaged within the year and married in her hometown of Bronxville, New York in 1958. The pair were married for 24 years and shared three children together: Kara, Ted Jr and Patrick.
They divorced in 1983, but Kennedy was long-remembered for the struggles she endured throughout their marriage.
She suffered multiple miscarriages, including one shortly after Ted plunged a car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in 1969 and killed his young, female passenger.
She stood by Ted’s side as he attended the victim’s funeral, pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, and as his extramarital affairs and heavy drinking made national headlines.
Kennedy battled her own demons, having fought alcoholism and depression for many years. She became one of the first leading ladies in America to publicly address her struggles and was an advocate for mental health and addiction services.
The former Joan Bennett was born in New York City on September 2, 1936. She was raised in a Roman Catholic family in the tiny suburb of Bronxville.
She met Jean Kennedy, who introduced her to Ted, while both women were studying at Manhattanville College.
Joan Kennedy was a model and classically-trained pianist when she married Ted in 1958.
But the couple’s lives changed drastically during their 15 years of marriage.
Kennedy’s brother-in-law John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960 and assassinated three years later.
Her brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy served as attorney general under JFK, was elected to the Senate in 1964 and assassinated while seeking the presidency.
Her husband was elected to the Senate in 1962 and became among the country’s most respected legislators despite initial misgivings that he was capitalizing on his family connections.
Kennedy was forced to stand by her husband as he battled scandals of his own making.
In 1969, the car Ted plunged the car he was driving plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island. His passenger Mary Jo Kopechne died in the crash.
Ted, who swam to safety and waited hours before alerting police, later pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident.
The Chappaquiddick tragedy shadowed him for the rest of his life, weighing against his own chances for the presidency.
Kennedy stood by her husband through the scandal, but their estrangement was nearly impossible to hide by the time of his unsuccessful effort to defeat President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 Democratic primaries.
The couple had formally separated in 1978, but did not divorce until after Ted’s failed presidential campaign. One bumper sticker from Carter’s campaign read ‘Vote for Jimmy Carter, Free Joan Kennedy.’
Kennedy and Ted publicly announced their plans to divorce in 1981. The dissolution of their marriage was finalized nearly two years later.
She never remarried, but Ted – who served as a senator until his death in 2009 – did take a second wife.
He was married to Victoria Reggie Kennedy, the current Ambassador to the Republic of Austria, from 1990 until he passed away from a brain tumor at the age of 77.
Kennedy turned to alcohol as she tried to cope with the tragedies and scandals that plagued her very public life.
In an 1978 interview with People Magazine, Kennedy admitted that she sometimes ‘drank to block out unhappiness, to drown my sorrows.’
She told the outlet how she was an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous and despite working the program, found that ‘staying sober is difficult.’
‘But I’m sober today, and that’s all that matters. I’m working on my recovery a day at a time,’ she said in the interview.
Kennedy struggled maintaining her sobriety for decades and was arrested four times for drunk driving.
She was also hospitalized in March 2005 after being found sprawled out on a Boston sidewalk with a broken shoulder and concussion.
She was ordered to enter an alcohol treatment program later that year and appointed a guardian to manage her personal affairs. She was also assigned two trustees to manage her estate.
Her three children led the calls for guardianship, with a judge ruling Kennedy was ‘incapable of taking care of herself by reason of mental illness.’
Motherhood presented its own set of struggles for Kennedy, with two of her children having battled cancer.
Kara, a filmmaker and television producer, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2002. She died from a heart attack in 2011 aged 51.
Ted Jr, 64, was diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 12 and had a partial leg amputation. Despite this, he went on to become a lawyer and served in the Connecticut state Senate for four years.
In a tribute honoring his late mother, Ted Jr said we will ‘always admire…the way that she faced up to her challenges with grace, courage, humility, and honesty.’
‘She taught me how to be more truthful with myself and how careful listening is a more powerful communication skill than public speaking,’ he added.
Kennedy’s youngest, Patrick, served as a Rhode Island congressman for 16 years and, like his mother, was an avid advocate for mental health.
Patrick and his wife Amy issued a heartfelt tribute Wednesday, praising Kennedy’s dedication as a ‘loving mother’ and champion for mental health and addiction causes.
‘Mrs. Kennedy was a classically trained pianist, an advocate for mental health and addiction recovery, and a quiet pioneer in publicly addressing challenges with alcoholism and depression at a time when few others would,’ the couple said.
Patrick added that she was a ‘powerful example to millions of people with mental health conditions’.
He also recognized the ‘instrumental’ role Kennedy played in helping her husband launch his political career.
Kennedy was known for opening her husband’s campaign rallies with a piano serenade.
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 told the outlet. ‘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.’
Kennedy relocated from Washington to Boston after she and Ted divorced.
She pursued a master’s degree in music education at Lesley University and later became a music teacher.
She also toured with orchestras around the world. Her family said she would combine her masterful playing with a message about the transformational potential of the arts and the need for equitable arts education.
Kennedy was an active member in the city’s arts scene and worked with several local organizations, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops.
Boston Pops conductor Laurete John Williams said Kennedy will be ‘greatly missed’ at the orchestra, but notes her dedication to the program leaves a ‘lasting impact’.
‘Joan was an accomplished pianist and possessed an impressive knowledge of the classical music repertoire,’ he said in a statement to WFTX.
‘She will be greatly missed and will always be regarded as a member of our Boston Symphony Family.’
