52 Women I Admire
Week 2 — Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Stories help us understand ourselves and the world.
I am writing a series of blogs that focus on famous women I admire. I plan to publish approximately an article a week for an entire year. Each article will feature a woman who I believe has made an impact on our world. The women may be alive or they may be deceased. They may be part of our current experience or they may be historical figures. They all matter in some way.
We all matter in some way.
NOTE: I know the word “retardation” can be polarizing and cruel. I do not mean it that way. I use that word in this post because it was part of an official program name. In the mid-20th century that was the word people used to talk about mentally challenged or mentally disabled children and adults.
Persistence. Leadership. Compassion.
This week, I am profiling Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921–2009) for the second installment of my series “52 Women I Admire.”
Eunice (or “Puny-Euny” as she was called by her siblings while growing up) was the middle child of Joseph and Rose Kennedy’s nine children. Her brothers included President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy. Growing up in a rich and powerful American family, Eunice’s greatest downfall may have been her gender.
A well-educated woman with big ideas, Eunice was, in many ways, ahead of her time. As an adult, Eunice would join the men after dinner to smoke cigars and talk about politics, rather than chat and gossip with the women. If Eunice had been born at a different time in history, she may have run for president. There’s a good chance she could have won.
Eunice was 31 when she finally decided to give up on her plan to become a nun and instead to accept the constant proposals from her suitor, Robert Sargent Shriver.
“Sarg,” who later became the first director of the Peace Corps and started the Jobs Corps and Head Start, courted Eunice for seven years before she finally agreed to marry him. They were married for 56 years (until Eunice’s death). This was one of the longest and most successful marriages in the Kennedy family.
Eunice and Sarg had five children — Bobby, Maria, Timothy, Mark, and Anthony. For many women of that era — and for Eunice’s controlling and demanding father — a good marriage and five children would have been enough success for a woman. But not for Eunice.
Eunice received fame and fortune from her wealthy father and famous brothers, but she also worked hard in her own right — often using her wealth and well-known name to open doors and get things done.
Eunice was best known for starting the Special Olympics in the late 1960s, but she also helped to create President Kennedy’s Panel on Mental Retardation (1961) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (1962).
Though critics often say that Eunice — and the rest of the Kennedys — were trying to make up for the treatment of Rosemary (their mentally disabled sister), Eunice seemed to be guided not just by her family and duty, but also by God. She was a devoted Catholic for her entire life, especially turning to her faith during the tragic times that have all too often fallen on the Kennedy family.
Though far from a traditional mother and wife, Eunice’s areas of greatest focus included family, religion, causes.
Her greatest downfalls (because no one is perfect!) included terrible cooking, terrible housekeeping, unkempt hair, messy clothes, and unrefined children (they used to run amuck at the Shriver homes).
Eunice was her own person — something we should all aspire to become. She wore men’s pants when the rest of the ladies were in fancy dresses, she kept pencils and pens in her hair, and she pinned notes to her sweaters so she wouldn’t forget the many thoughts and ideas swirling around in her head.
Eunice was a powerhouse of wisdom and energy — someone from who we can all learn.
Lesson #1 — PERSISTENCE
“Do the best you can, then to hell with it!”-e.k.s.
In the late 1950s, Eunice’s father named Eunice as the executive vice president of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation (named after Eunice’s oldest brother who died in World War II). She shifted the foundation’s focus away from Catholic charities toward issues related to children’s health and disabilities.
But Eunice wasn’t fully in charge of the dispersement of the foundation’s money and attention until 1961. It was then, after her father suffered a stroke and lost his ability to speak, that Eunice was given full reign over the foundation’s money.
Her patience paid off. As the true head (not just the acting head) of the family’s foundation, Eunice was able to begin making measurable differences in people’s lives.
As the middle child in a large family, Eunice often had to either be patient or make waves so her voice would be heard. If she believed something was important, she would refuse to take “no” for an answer. Though she lived a privileged life, Eunice often put her Stanford education to work, taking the time to learn about and understand the struggles and needs of people who were less fortunate. She knew her knowledge and hard work would pay off eventually. She used her name, her wealth, and her connections to get things done — even it it took more time than she liked.
There was a joke — at least many believe it was a joke — that President Kennedy would tell his aids to give Eunice whatever she wanted when she came to the Oval Office during her brother’s tenure as president. JFK had a lot to worry about, but Eunice didn’t let that stop her. She asked the president for assistance, money, and attention for causes that mattered to her. The president didn’t blindly help Eunice’s causes. He trusted that Eunice did the necessary homework and research on her chosen topics before she proposed anything.
Knowledge, preparation, planning, and not settling can turn ideas into action with a little persistence.
Lesson #2 — LEADERSHIP
“Do it well, finish it properly, and move on.”-e.k.s.
Children with intellectual disabilities became Eunice’s defining cause when, in 1962, she invited 34 special needs children and 26 counselors to Timberland, her Maryland farm. This was the first meeting of Camp Shriver — the precursor to the Special Olympics.
Eunice lead Camp Shriver by example. She didn’t just make phone calls, pay bills, and then watch the activities from the comfort of her living room. Eunice participated with the children and counselors — often jumping into the pool to teach a swimming lesson or running around the track to race the kids.
Eunice had a firm belief in the power of sports to help both the personal and public perceptions of people with intellectual disabilities. This belief provided the impetus to create and lead Camp Shriver and, later, Special Olympics.
By creating the Special Olympics — and staying true to the organization for more than 40 years — Eunice demonstrated that you do not need to be the head of state (or a man) to make a difference and move ideas forward.
Powerful, effective leadership means leading from the heart.
Lesson #3 — COMPASSION
“Intelligence does not limit love, nor does wealth produce friendships.”-e.k.s.
Joesph Kennedy, Sr., had high expectations for his kids. The bar may not have been as high for the women as it was for the men, but he and his wife, Rose, seemed to spend more time worrying about the family’s political work and public image than they spent showing great affection to their family. Not that Joe didn’t love his children.
Both Joe and Rose loved all of their children — even Rosemary — but they expected perfection. In fact, it seemed to be a combination of love for Rosemary and a need for the “perfect family” that likely led Joe to do all he could to try to “fix” his intellectually disabled child.
Eunice was different. She expected a lot from the people in her life, but she also was able to see another side. She had compassion for those around her. The empathy she felt for Rosemary — and others like her — helped her understand how damaging the world at-large could be to some people. Eunice was, reportedly, the main person in the Kennedy family — and often in her New England community — who people could go to for help.
The Kennedys did like to spend time together and to have fun. Sports were a major part of this fun — both when Eunice was a child and when she had children of her own. After growing up and playing flag football, tennis, and other sports with her siblings (all ofthem, including Rosemary), Eunice realized how inclusive sports could be.
That’s not all. Eunice knew that sports meant activity, fun, camaraderie, and friendly competition. It wasn’t the winning that mattered, it was playing the game that drew people together.
Eunice was a strong believer that everyone matters.
Legacy of the Special Olympics
“Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”-e.k.s.
Eunice said these words at the first Special Olympics gathering at Chicago’s Soldier Field in 1968. These words still ring true and remain part of the international message of Special Olympics.
Special Olympics changed the perceptions of people with intellectual disabilities. For this, the world will be forever in debt to Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Unlike many of her peers from the early- to mid-20th century, Eunice believed that every person is capable of:
Moral excellence
Friendship
Courage
Love
Fifty years later, Special Olympics shares this message — and with it — changes the world.
Learn More
There is a lot of information available online about the Kennedy and Shriver families. There were many days, as I was writing this blog, that a Google search would lead me down multiple rabbit holes. I cannot possibly list every source I came across, but here are few places to start if you want to learn more:
- Once Upon a Lifetime podcast, Episodes 11–16 (July and August 2019).
- “Eunice: The Kennedy Who Changed the World,” by Eileen McNamara (2018)
- eunicekennedyshriver.org
- specialolympics.org
