Kerry Kennedy Says Her Family Had PTSD Symptoms Following RFK’s Assassination, but Ethel Persevered

Mar. 15, 2025

From Left: Kerry Kennedy; Robert F. Kennedy; and Ethel Kennedy.Photo:Michael Loccisano/Getty; Harry Warnecke/NY Daily News Archive via Getty; Taylor Hill/Getty

Michael Loccisano/Getty; Harry Warnecke/NY Daily News Archive via Getty; Taylor Hill/Getty

Kerry Kennedyis paying tribute to her mother,Ethel Kennedy, for her resilience in the days that followed her father’s assassination.Kerry, who is the daughter ofRobert F. Kennedyand Ethel, opened up about her family life in the wake of her father’s death and how her mother stepped in to ensure that she and her ten siblings were taken care of at the 2024 Ripple of Hope Award Gala.“She picked up my father, she went to the hospital with him,” Kerry recalled during a speech at the New York City event on Wednesday, Dec. 11, honoring her late mother. “She held him until he passed, and the next day she got up and she got out of bed, and then she, six months later, gave birth to my sister Rory.”“Incredible that she [birthed] that child,” she added.From Left: Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy at a victory rally.Bettmann/Getty ImagesThe lawyer and human rights activist, 65, noted that her mother continued to show her strength in raising her 11 children with Robert — despite all the challenges that came with it.“All of us were traumatized, and she was traumatized,” Kerry explained. “And nearly all [of] us were showing signs of post traumatic stress disorder for years and years. And she did it anyway.”“And then she started Robert F. Kennedy human rights, not like a decade later, six months later,” she said.From Left: Robert Kennedy Jr., Jean Kennedy- Smith, Ethel Kennedy, Rory Kennedy, Mark Bailey, Conor Kennedy and members of the Kennedy family in 2012.Cindy Ord/FilmMagicNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.She noted that her mom worked diligently to keep the non profit organization going. Five decades later, the organization, which partners with local activists in order to advocate for key human rights issues and pursue strategic litigation at home and around the world, is still standing strong."[Ethel] was the most courageous person I’ve ever met in my life,” Kerry shared.The dedication comes two months after Ethel died at the age of 96 on Oct. 10. Kerry shared in a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter) that the Kennedy matriarch died after suffering “from complications related toa stroke” the week prior.From Left: Ethel and Kerry Kennedy in 2014.Mike Pont/FilmMagic"She was a devout Catholic and a daily communicant, and we are comforted in knowing she is reunited with the love of her life, our father, Robert F. Kennedy; her children David and Michael; her daughter-in-law Mary; her grandchildren Maeve and Saoirse; and her great-grandchildren Gideon and Josie,” Kerry shared. “Please keep our mother in your hearts and prayers.“During her life, Ethel survived amultitude of other tragediesaside from the assassination of her husband, including the 1955 death of her parents, George and Ann Skakel, in a plane crash and the unexpected deaths of her nephew,John F. Kennedy Jr., and daughter-in-law,Mary Richardson Kennedy, among others.Asked how she survived so many personal tragedies, Ethel, who admitted she was not one for introspection, told PEOPLE in a 2012 interview, “I pretty well lived in the moment. And I was blessed with faith.”

Kerry Kennedyis paying tribute to her mother,Ethel Kennedy, for her resilience in the days that followed her father’s assassination.

Kerry, who is the daughter ofRobert F. Kennedyand Ethel, opened up about her family life in the wake of her father’s death and how her mother stepped in to ensure that she and her ten siblings were taken care of at the 2024 Ripple of Hope Award Gala.

“She picked up my father, she went to the hospital with him,” Kerry recalled during a speech at the New York City event on Wednesday, Dec. 11, honoring her late mother. “She held him until he passed, and the next day she got up and she got out of bed, and then she, six months later, gave birth to my sister Rory.”

“Incredible that she [birthed] that child,” she added.

From Left: Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy at a victory rally.Bettmann/Getty Images

Bettmann/Getty Images

The lawyer and human rights activist, 65, noted that her mother continued to show her strength in raising her 11 children with Robert — despite all the challenges that came with it.

“All of us were traumatized, and she was traumatized,” Kerry explained. “And nearly all [of] us were showing signs of post traumatic stress disorder for years and years. And she did it anyway.”

“And then she started Robert F. Kennedy human rights, not like a decade later, six months later,” she said.

From Left: Robert Kennedy Jr., Jean Kennedy- Smith, Ethel Kennedy, Rory Kennedy, Mark Bailey, Conor Kennedy and members of the Kennedy family in 2012.Cindy Ord/FilmMagic

Cindy Ord/FilmMagic

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

She noted that her mom worked diligently to keep the non profit organization going. Five decades later, the organization, which partners with local activists in order to advocate for key human rights issues and pursue strategic litigation at home and around the world, is still standing strong.

“[Ethel] was the most courageous person I’ve ever met in my life,” Kerry shared.

The dedication comes two months after Ethel died at the age of 96 on Oct. 10. Kerry shared in a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter) that the Kennedy matriarch died after suffering “from complications related toa stroke” the week prior.

From Left: Ethel and Kerry Kennedy in 2014.Mike Pont/FilmMagic

Mike Pont/FilmMagic

“She was a devout Catholic and a daily communicant, and we are comforted in knowing she is reunited with the love of her life, our father, Robert F. Kennedy; her children David and Michael; her daughter-in-law Mary; her grandchildren Maeve and Saoirse; and her great-grandchildren Gideon and Josie,” Kerry shared. “Please keep our mother in your hearts and prayers.”

During her life, Ethel survived amultitude of other tragediesaside from the assassination of her husband, including the 1955 death of her parents, George and Ann Skakel, in a plane crash and the unexpected deaths of her nephew,John F. Kennedy Jr., and daughter-in-law,Mary Richardson Kennedy, among others.

Asked how she survived so many personal tragedies, Ethel, who admitted she was not one for introspection, told PEOPLE in a 2012 interview, “I pretty well lived in the moment. And I was blessed with faith.”

source: people.com