Kyle Kennedy has died. The former New York City educator was 42.
The granddaughter of former senator Robert F. “Bobby” Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy died peacefully in her Massachusetts home on Sept. 21, according to her obituary. A private funeral was held. No cause of death was announced.
She’s remembered for being athletic and competitive.
“Throughout her life she could frequently be seen outrunning her peers on playgrounds, soccer pitches, and lacrosse fields, while in quieter moments tenaciously pursuing all out victory in trivial pursuit or card games,” her obituary states.
Kennedy was a long-distance runner prior to suffering a 2020 spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed along with other medical complications. The previous year she completed the Boston Marathon 20 minutes faster than the time her father Michael Kennedy recorded prior to his death in a 1997 skiing mishap.
That tragedy occurred on a snowy slope in Aspen, Colo., during a New Years Eve family football game being played on skis. Ethel had previously tried putting an end to that dangerous tradition, according to Time Magazine. Michael’s children reportedly prayed as they watched their father die.
Kennedy’s family credits her “dry wit and determination” for getting her through the years following her injury. She became an advocate for people with disabilities. Those efforts included testimony on discrimination in disabled health care at the Massachusetts state house.
Kennedy was born in Washington, D.C, but spent most of her life in Massachusetts. After attending Georgetown, Harvard and Pace University, she joined Teach for America and spent two years working in the New York City public school system.
She is survived by her two sons, 12-year-old Conor and 10-year-old Declan. Kennedy’s obituary said she cared for “two beloved, ill-behaved Wheaten terriers” as well.
She was preceded in death by a daughter who died in infancy in 2014. Kennedy also leaves behind her her mom Victoria, her brother Michael, and her sister Rory.
