Kyle Kennedy suffered a spinal injury in 2020 which left her paralysed
Kyle Kennedy, the granddaughter of former US senator Robert F Kennedy and niece of US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, has died at the age of 42. Kennedy died on September 21 at her home in Westwood, Massachusetts, according to an obituary published by Burke Funeral Homes. The daughter of Robert F Kennedy’s son Michael L Kennedy, Kyle suffered a severe spinal cord injury in 2020 that resulted in long-term paralysis, disability and other medical challenges, according to her obituary.
“The years that followed brought struggles, but Kyle fought to maintain her dry wit and determination through it all,” her obituary said, adding that she tried to be the best possible mother to her sons. Despite her health struggles, she continued raising her children and became an advocate for people with disabilities. She testified at the Massachusetts State House during a hearing on discrimination in healthcare for people with disabilities.
Her cause of death has not been publicly disclosed, and her funeral services were held privately, reported USA Today.
Born in July 1984, Kennedy pursued a career in education after studying history at Georgetown University. Her father, Michael, died in a skiing accident in Aspen, Colorado, in 1997. Saoirse Kennedy Hill, another granddaughter of Robert F Kennedy, died at 22 in 2019. In 2020, Maeve Kennedy McKean, also his granddaughter, and her eight-year-old son, Gideon, drowned in the Chesapeake Bay after a canoeing accident.
She later earned master’s degrees from Pace University and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. She taught in New York City’s public school system through Teach for America and subsequently worked on education reform and curriculum development. Kennedy is survived by her sons, Conor and Declan, her former husband, Liam, her mother, Victoria, and her siblings. The Kennedy family has faced several other losses in past few years. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.