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Wicked Blue

(8,299 posts)
Wed Oct 8, 2025, 11:01 AM Oct 8

Joan Kennedy, first wife of Sen. Edward Kennedy, has died [View all]

Source: AP

BOSTON (AP) — Joan B. Kennedy, the former wife of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy who endured a long and troubled marriage marked by family tragedies, her husband’s infidelities and her own struggles with alcoholism and mental health, died on Wednesday. She was 89.

The former Joan Bennett was a model and classically-trained pianist when she married Ted Kennedy in 1958. Their lives would change unimaginably over the next decade and a half. Brother-in-law John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960 and assassinated three years later. Brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy served as attorney general under JFK, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1964 and assassinated while seeking the presidency.

Her husband was elected to the U.S. Senate and became among the country’s most respected legislators despite initial misgivings that he was capitalizing on his family connections. But Ted Kennedy also lived through scandals of his own making. In 1969, the car he was driving plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, killing his young female passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne.

Kennedy, who swam to safety and waited hours before alerting police, later pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident. Chappaquiddick shadowed him for the rest of his life, weighing against his own chances for the presidency.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/joan-kennedy-dies-sen-edward-kennedy-3a3d8557ccb83fad3bdc0444a235e80c

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R.I.P. Joan snowybirdie Oct 8 #1
He's waiting for you. sinkingfeeling Oct 8 #2
Sorry, who is? quaint Oct 8 #4
Ted Kennedy. sinkingfeeling Oct 8 #8
Oh. Ted married Victoria in 1992. quaint Oct 8 #10
They were divorced JI7 Oct 8 #14
Cross gently, Joan, to the place where all wounds are healed, where love is reconciled... Hekate Oct 8 #3
Joan Clouds Passing Oct 8 #5
RIP FemDemERA Oct 8 #6
She had an amazing life, but with many difficulties and heartbreaks. Fla Dem Oct 8 #7
May your family be at peace. riversedge Oct 8 #9
Good gravy! BaronChocula Oct 8 #11
Rest in Peace Joan ... you've earned your place in the Kennedy legacy FakeNoose Oct 8 #12
... 2naSalit Oct 8 #13
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