Obituary: Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 88, Special Olympics Founder
August 11, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, died this morning at Cape Code Hospital, in Hyannis, Mass., after suffering several strokes, according to The Washington Post. She was 88.
The fifth of Joseph P. and Rose Kennedy’s nine children, Ms. Shriver was inspired to work for improved services for and understanding of mentally retarded people by her elder sister, Rosemary, who was born with the condition and eventually institutionalized.
Special Olympics, which Ms. Shriver started in 1968, has evolved into the world’s largest sports program for mentally disabled people, serving more than 2.5 million athletes in 180 countries annually.
The group, now overseen by her son, Timothy P. Shriver, is also a fund-raising powerhouse, ranking at No. 93 on the Chronicle’s most recent Philanthropy 400, a listing of charities that raise the most private money.
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