Kyle Kennedy, the granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, has died at the age of 42.
According to her obituary, the teacher and mother of two died peacefully at her home in Westwood, Massachusetts, on September 21. News of her death has only become public in the past few days.
At the time of writing, no cause of death has been announced, with the local town clerk telling PEOPLE that it is still pending.
Kyle Francis Kennedy was born in Washington, D.C., on July 6, 1984. Her father was Michael Kennedy, the sixth of Bobby and Ethel’s 11 children, and her mother is Victoria Gifford, daughter of late football star and broadcaster Frank Gifford.
Kyle was one of Bobby and Ethel’s 34 grandchildren, but opted for a life far from politics. After college, she joined Teach For America and taught in New York City. She went on to earn degrees from Georgetown, Pace University and Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, and spent her career working to improve early childhood education, especially for disadvantaged children.
As per reports, Kyle suffered a severe spinal cord injury in 2020 that left her paralyzed. She lived with the debilitating effects, including disability and other medical challenges, from then on.
Her obituary states that those years were hard, but she held on to her sharp sense of humor and her determination. She put her energy into being the best mother she could be to her sons, while also becoming a voice for others facing similar circumstances.
Nor was Kyle a stranger to grief. She was just 13 when her father, Michael, died in a skiing accident in Aspen on New Year’s Eve 1997.
Later, she and her former husband, Liam Kerr, lost their infant daughter, Josephine, who died a few days after she was born. Josephine was the twin sister of their son Conor.
Kyle leaves behind her sons Conor, 12, and Declan, 10. She is also survived by her former husband, her mother Victoria, her brother Michael, her sister Rory, and several nieces and nephews.
Our thoughts are with Kyle’s sons and the whole Kennedy family at this difficult time.
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