Joan Bennett Kennedy dies at her Boston home at age of 89

Joan Bennett Kennedy, the first wife of the late Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, died at her home in Boston at the age of 89.

A family spokesman confirmed that Kennedy, whose real name was Joan Bennett, passed away peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Ted’s older sister, Jean Kennedy, was a model and classically trained pianist when she introduced the duo in 1957.

They became engaged later that year and married in 1958 in her hometown of Bronxville, New York. The couple was married for 24 years and shared three children: Kara, Ted Jr and Patrick.

They divorced in 1983, but Kennedy was long remembered for the difficulties he experienced throughout their marriage.

She suffered multiple miscarriages, including one shortly after Ted threw a car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in 1969, killing its young female passenger.

She stood by Ted as he attended the victim’s funeral, pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of the accident, and as his extramarital affairs and excessive drinking made national headlines.

Kennedy battled his own demons for years, struggling with alcoholism and depression. She became one of the first prominent women in America to go public with her struggles and was an advocate for mental health and addiction services.

Ted Kennedy stands to the right of Joan Bennett at their New York wedding in 1958

The former Joan Bennett was born on September 2, 1936, in New York City. He grew up in a Roman Catholic family in the small suburb of Bronxville.

While both women were attending Manhattanville College, she met Jean Kennedy, who introduced her to Ted.

Joan Kennedy was a model and classically trained pianist when she married Ted in 1958.

However, during their 15-year marriage, the couple’s life changed drastically.

Kennedy’s brother-in-law, John F. Kennedy, was elected president in 1960 and was assassinated three years later.

His brother-in-law, Robert F. Kennedy, served as JFK’s attorney general, was elected to the Senate in 1964, and was assassinated while seeking the presidency.

Her husband was elected to the Senate in 1962 and became among the nation’s most respected legislators, despite initial suspicions that he was taking advantage of family connections.

Kennedy had to stand by her husband as he struggled with scandals of his own making.

Ted Kennedy, Joan Bennett Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, John Kennedy Jr and Caroline Kennedy are photographed together at the 1965 JFK memorial in Runnymede, England.

Joan Kennedy was photographed leaving lunch with Luciana Avedon, Father Francis Murphy, and jewelry designer Joan Guerreiro in New York in 1972.

In 1969, Ted’s car crashed off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island. His passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, died in the crash.

Ted, who swam to safety and waited for hours before calling the police, later admitted that he had left the scene of the accident.

The Chappaquiddick tragedy shadowed him for the rest of his life and cast a shadow over his own presidential chances.

Kennedy stood by her husband throughout the scandal, but it was almost impossible to hide their estrangement when it came to his unsuccessful effort to defeat President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 Democratic primaries.

The couple officially separated in 1978 but did not divorce until after Ted’s unsuccessful presidential campaign. A bumper sticker from Carter’s campaign read: ‘Vote Jimmy Carter, free Joan Kennedy.’

Kennedy and Ted publicly announced their divorce plans in 1981. The dissolution of their marriage was finalized approximately two years later.

He never married again, but Ted, who served as a senator until his death in 2009, took a second wife.

He was married to Victoria Reggie Kennedy, current Ambassador of the Republic of Austria, from 1990 until her death from a brain tumor at the age of 77.

Ted Kennedy and his wife, Joan Kennedy, in New York City, circa 1980

The Kennedy family pays tribute at the graveside of Robert F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on November 20, 1971, what would have been his 47th birthday.

Joan Kennedy, Maurice Templesman and Jackie Onassis in New York, circa 1986

Kennedy turned to alcohol as he struggled to cope with the tragedies and scandals that plagued his public life.

In a 1978 interview with People Magazine, Kennedy admitted that he sometimes drank “to block out unhappiness, to drown out my sorrows.”

He told the press that he was an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous and, despite working in the program, found it “difficult to stay sober.”

‘But today I’m sober and that’s what matters. “I work on my recovery every day,” he said in the interview.

Kennedy struggled to maintain his sobriety for decades and was arrested four times for drunken driving.

He was also hospitalized in March 2005 after being found on a Boston sidewalk with a broken shoulder and a concussion.

Later that year, he was ordered to enter an alcohol treatment program and a guardian was appointed to manage his personal affairs. He was also appointed two trustees to manage his estate.

His three children led calls for guardianship, and a judge ruled that Kennedy was ‘incapable of caring for himself due to mental illness’.

Senator Ted Kennedy and his wife, Joan Kennedy, left the West Palm Beach airport in November 1964 to go to his father’s house and vacation.

Joan Kennedy, wife of Senator Edward Kennedy, is greeted by the President and First Lady Nixon at the second of three receptions for members of Congress at the White House in 1969.

Joan Kennedy and her husband, Senator Edward M. Kennedy (right), are seen backstage in Boston with Boston Pops Orchestra conductor Arthur Fiedler on May 11, 1969.

Patrick Joseph Kennedy II graduated from Phillips Andover College in 1991. He was surrounded by his mother, Joan Bennett Kennedy, his father, Senator Ted Kennedy, and his brother, Edward Moore Kennedy, Jr. There are.

Motherhood presented its own struggles for Kennedy, with two of her children battling cancer.

Kara, a film producer and television producer, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2002. He died of a heart attack in 2011 at the age of 51.

Ted Jr., 64, was diagnosed with bone cancer when he was 12 and had part of his leg amputated. Despite this, he became a lawyer and served in the Connecticut State Senate for four years.

In his tribute to his late mother, Ted Jr. said, “We will always admire the way she faced the challenges she encountered over time, with courage, humility and integrity.”

‘It taught me how to be more honest with myself and how careful listening is a more powerful communication skill than public speaking,’ she added.

Kennedy’s youngest, Patrick, served as a Rhode Island congressman for 16 years and, like his mother, was a fierce advocate for mental health.

Patrick and his wife, Amy, released a heartfelt tribute on Wednesday, praising Kennedy’s dedication as a “loving mother” and advocate for mental health and addiction issues.

‘Woman. Kennedy was a classically trained pianist, mental health and addiction recovery advocate and a quiet pioneer in publicly addressing issues related to alcoholism and depression, the couple said.

Joan Kennedy (second from left), wearing cap and gown, poses with her family after receiving her Master’s degree in Education from Lesley College in 1981.

Joan Kennedy at the taping of The Sally Jesse Raphael Show at Unitel Studios in New York City in November 1992

Congressman Patrick Kennedy and his mother, Joan Kennedy, attend a rally with Democratic campaign staffers in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on November 7, 2006.

Patrick added that he was a ‘strong example to the millions of people with mental health problems’.

She was also aware of the ‘instrumental’ role Kennedy played in helping her husband launch his political career.

Kennedy was known for starting her husband’s campaign rallies with a piano serenade.

In a 1992 Associated Press interview, he recalled playing the piano for his brother-in-law Bobby, who was running for president in 1968.

“He took me in and encouraged me,” she told the outlet. ‘It had a theme: This Land is Your Land – Woody Guthrie song. ‘I’d play it on the piano and everyone would come in and feel really great about the whole thing.’

Kennedy moved from Washington to Boston after her divorce from Ted.

Lesley earned a master’s degree in music education at University and later became a music teacher.

He has also toured with orchestras around the world. His family said he would combine his masterful playing with a message about the transformative potential of art and the need for equitable arts education.

Joan Kennedy is seen during the official ceremony to dedicate the Edward M. Kennedy Institute to the United States Senate on March 30, 2015 in Boston.

Kennedy was an active member of the city’s arts scene and worked with many local organizations, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops.

Boston Pops conductor Laurete John Williams said Kennedy “will be greatly missed” in the orchestra, but noted that his dedication to the program left a “lasting impact.”

“Joan was an accomplished pianist and had an impressive knowledge of the classical music repertoire,” he said in a statement. WFTX.

‘He will be greatly missed and will always be considered a member of our Boston Symphony Family.’