Jean Kennedy Smith, the last surviving sibling of President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Ted Kennedy, has died at the age of 92. Jean reportedly died in her home on Wednesday.
In her lifetime, Jean served as an American diplomat and also worked as a humanitarian and activist. President Bill Clinton appointed her ambassador to Ireland in 1993, and she reportedly had a role in the peace talks that took place with Northern Ireland.
Jean also published a memoir about growing up in her famous family. In The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy, she wrote:
“It is hard for me to fully comprehend that I was growing up with brothers who [would] eventually occupy the highest offices of our nation, including president of the United States. At the time, they were simply my playmates. They were the source of my amusement and the objects of my admiration.”
Unlike her more famous siblings, Jean lived most of her life quietly. She and her husband, Stephen Edward Smith, were married in 1956. Jean and Stephen had two sons and two daughters.
Jean served as ambassador to Ireland for five years, from 1993 to 1998. Her father had previously served as ambassador to the United Kingdom under President Franklin Roosevelt. In 1998, the president of Ireland, Mary McAleese, even gave Jean honorary Irish citizenship. Bertie Ahern, the country's then-Taoiseach (prime minister), told Jean, "You have helped bring about a better life for everyone throughout Ireland."
In 1994, Jean caused a bit of controversy when she stated that the United States should grant a visa to Gerry Adams, a former leader of Sinn Féin. Gerry was criticized for how he led the independence struggle in Ireland, but Jean believed he had changed his ways. In his memoir, Ted Kennedy wrote, "Jean was convinced that Adams no longer believed that continuing the armed struggle was the way to achieve the IRA's objective of a united Ireland."
Eventually, it came to light that President Clinton had previously promised Gerry Adams a visa to the United States.
Jean received several awards and plenty of notoriety for her work in Ireland, and she and her brother Ted were awarded the Tipperary Peace Award for their work toward peace in the region.
Jean also campaigned for each of her brothers as they made their way into regional and national politics. She even helped host a state dinner alongside President Kennedy, and she went with him on his first visit to Ireland. The pair's great-grandfather, Patrick Kennedy, was from southeastern Ireland, and the family celebrated their Irish ancestry.
Jean also founded the Very Special Arts program, which is an internationally recognized organization that works to advance the inclusion of disabled people and people with disabilities in the arts. The VSA was renamed the Department of VSA and Accessibility in 2011, and it is now part of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
In 2011, President Barack Obama awarded Jean the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a civilian can receive in the United States. Jean received the award for her work with the VSA and for people with disabilities.
In 1993, Jean published a book with George Plimpton called Chronicles of Courage: Very Special Artists. The book features several interviews with artists who have disabilities.
Jean's sister, Eunice, was actually the founder the Special Olympics, so disability activism and advocacy appear to have been a familial interest.
Jean's family has not released a detailed statement about her death, and so far a cause of death has not been announced. Jean was the eighth of nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Kennedy. Her husband died in 1990, and Jean is survived by their four children.
