Eunice Kennedy Shriver DSG (July 10, 1921 – August 11, 2009)[2] founded the precursor to the Special Olympics in 1962. In 1968, she helped Ann McGlone Burke popularize the Special Olympics movement across the U.S.

She was a member of the Kennedy family and actively campaigned for her elder brother, U.S. President John F. Kennedy, during his successful 1960 U.S. presidential election.

Her husband, Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr., is a former United States Ambassador to France, the founder of the Peace Corps, and was the Democratic vice-presidential candidate in the 1972 U.S. presidential election.

Their daughter, Maria Shriver, is married to actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Social activist. She was best known as a founding member of the Special Olympics. Born into the powerful Kennedy family, her most famous siblings were US President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy. She was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in London and graduated in 1944 from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, with a Bachelor of Science in Social Science. In 1953 she married Robert Sargent Shriver, and they had five children. Throughout her life, she received numerous awards and many honorary degrees. The most notable are the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Civitan International World Citizenship Award, and the Theodore Roosevelt Award.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Aug 11 2024, 18:32:28 UTC

Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eunice_Kennedy_Shriver
• http://www.eunicekennedyshriver.org/bios/eks
• http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0447885/
• http://www.nndb.com/people/421/000027340/