WASHINGTON — Ethel Kennedy, a champion for human rights and the widow of the renowned Democratic leader Robert F. Kennedy, died Thursday morning due to complications arising from a stroke she had earlier that week. She was 96 years old.

Kerry Kennedy, one of Ethel’s daughters, shared the news of her mother’s passing in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“With heavy hearts filled with love, we announce the death of our mother, Ethel Kennedy,” said Kerry Kennedy. “She leaves behind a legacy of social justice and human rights activism, along with nine children, 34 grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren.”

Ethel Shakel joined the Kennedy family in 1950 when she wed Robert F. Kennedy. He served as U.S. attorney general during his brother, President John F. Kennedy’s, administration and later became a U.S. senator for New York.

Together, Robert and Ethel Kennedy raised 11 children.

Ethel Kennedy faced great personal loss, including the assassination of her brother-in-law, John F. Kennedy, in 1963, and the murder of her husband, Robert F. Kennedy, on June 6, 1968, in Los Angeles, shortly after he gave a speech while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination.

<p”In a 2014 NBC interview, when asked about her inspiration, she replied: ‘First, Bobby and his life, and, of course, Jack.’

Tragedy marked Ethel Kennedy’s life beyond these events; her parents died in a plane crash in 1955, and she lost her brother in a 1966 air accident.

Additionally, Ethel’s son David passed away from a drug overdose in 1984, her son Michael died in a skiing accident in 1997, and her granddaughter Saoirse tragically lost her life to an accidental drug overdose in 2019 at the Kennedy family’s home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

“The family takes comfort in knowing that she is now reunited with the love of her life, our father Robert F. Kennedy; her children, David and Michael; her daughter-in-law Mary; her grandchildren Maeve and Saoirse; and her great-grandchildren, Gideon and Joseph,” the family’s statement read.

This year, the Kennedy family’s internal divisions were highlighted in the political arena as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of Ethel’s children, ran as an independent presidential candidate before dropping out in August to endorse Republican nominee Donald Trump. His candidacy faced opposition from many family members, including Kerry Kennedy.

Ethel Kennedy worked diligently to honor her husband’s legacy by establishing the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Center in Washington D.C. Additionally, she was involved in various charitable initiatives, including raising funds for ALS research, combating poverty, and promoting social justice and environmental sustainability.

She played a significant role in efforts to clean up the Anacostia River in Washington and to revitalize the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in New York. A bridge over the Anacostia River has been named after her, known as the Ethel Kennedy Bridge.

In 2014, President Barack Obama honored Ethel Kennedy with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“Ethel has been a force for change in her quiet, unflashy, unstoppable way,” Obama said during the award ceremony, acknowledging her significant impact. “As her family will tell you – and they basically occupy this half of the room – you don’t mess with Ethel.”