LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION mourning the death of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a
woman of singular distinction and extraordinary accomplishment

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to pay tribute to
remarkable and inspirational citizens whose lifework and civic endeavor
served to enhance the quality of life in their communities and the
Nation as a whole; and
WHEREAS, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the loving sister of the late Presi-
dent John F. Kennedy, died on Tuesday, August 11, 2009, in Cape Cod
Hospital, Massachusetts, at the age of 88; and
WHEREAS, Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on July 10, 1921, the fifth
of nine children to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy,
Eunice Kennedy earned a sociology degree from Stanford University in
1943, after graduating from a British boarding school while her father
served as ambassador to England; and
WHEREAS, She worked as a social worker at a women's prison in Alder-
son, West Virginia, and was employed at the juvenile court in Chicago in
the 1950s before taking over the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation in 1957;
her goal was to improve the treatment of the mentally disabled; this
illustrious foundation was named for her oldest brother, Joseph Jr., who
was killed in World War II; and
WHEREAS, In 1953, she married Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. who became
JFK's first director of the Peace Corps, and George McGovern's vice-pre-
sidential running mate in 1972; in addition, he ran for president in
1976; and
WHEREAS, In 1961, under her esteemed leadership, the Joseph P. Kennedy
Foundation established the President's Committee on Mental Retardation,
and in 1962, developed the National Institute for Child Health and Human
Development; and
WHEREAS, In 1967, Eunice Kennedy Shriver helped establish a network of
university-affiliated facilities and mental retardation research centers
at major medical schools across the United States; and
WHEREAS, While her brother was in the White House, Eunice Kennedy
Shriver pressed for efforts to help troubled young people as well as the
mentally disabled; in 1968, she founded what would become the world's
largest athletic competition for mentally disabled children and adults;
and
WHEREAS, Today, more than 1 million athletes in more than 160 coun-
tries participate in Special Olympics each year; the roots of these
extraordinary meets began at a summer camp organized by Eunice Kennedy
Shriver in Maryland in 1963; and
WHEREAS, This is where she realized these children were far more capa-
ble of participating in sports than experts had imagined; Eunice Kennedy
Shiver organized the first Special Olympics in 1968 in Chicago; the
two-day event drew more than 1,000 participants from 26 states and Cana-
da; and
WHEREAS, By 2003, the Special Olympics World Summer Games, held in
Dublin, Ireland, involved more than 6,500 athletes from 150 countries;
even in her late 70's, Eunice Kennedy Shriver remained a daily presence
at the Special Olympics headquarters in Washington; and
WHEREAS, Throughout her extraordinary life, Eunice Kennedy Shriver
touched the lives of countless people; her commitment to excellence, and
her spirit of humanity, carried over into all fields of enterprise,
including charitable and civic endeavors; and
WHEREAS, In 1971, Eunice Kennedy Shriver created centers for the study
of medical ethics at Harvard and Georgetown Universities; and

WHEREAS, In 1981, Eunice Kennedy Shriver established the "Community of
Caring" concept for the reduction of intellectual disabilities among
babies of teenagers, 16 "Community of Caring" Centers in 1982, and the
establishment of "Community of Caring" programs in 1200 public and
private schools from 1990-2006; and
WHEREAS, Eunice Kennedy Shriver has been recognized nationally and
throughout the world for her efforts on behalf of persons with intellec-
tual disabilities as evidenced by such awards as the Priz de la Couronne
Francaise, the AAMD Humanitarian Award, the Order of the Smile of Polish
Children, and The National Women's Hall of Fame; and
WHEREAS, Furthermore, she was the recipient of the Nation's highest
civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which she received in
1984; in May of this year, the National Portrait Gallery installed a
painting of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the first portrait commissioned by
the museum of someone who had not been a president or first- lady; and
WHEREAS, In addition to her husband, Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr.,
Eunice Kennedy Shriver is survived by her four sons, Robert Sargent
Shriver III, Timothy Perry Shriver, Mark Kennedy Shriver, Anthony Paul
Kennedy Shriver; her daughter, Maria Shriver Schwarzenegger; a brother,
Senator Edward Kennedy; and a sister, Jean Kennedy Smith; as well as 19
grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, Armed with a humanistic spirit, imbued with a sense of
compassion, and comforted by a loving family, Eunice Kennedy Shriver
leaves behind a legacy which will long endure the passage of time and
will remain as a comforting memory to all she served and befriended;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
mourn the death of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a woman of singular
distinction and extraordinary accomplishment; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the family of Eunice Kennedy Shriver.