TED KENNEDY DEAD: Legendary Senator Passes Away From Brain Cancer (VIDEO)
First Posted: 08-26-09 01:27 AM | Updated: 08-26-09 03:39 AM
Legendary Senator Ted Kennedy has died at age 77, losing his battle to brain cancer.
In May 2008 doctors diagnosed Kennedy, one of the most influential and longest-serving senators in U.S. history, with a malignant brain tumor.
Here is the statement from the Kennedy family:
"Edward M. Kennedy - the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply - died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port," the statement said. "We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it's hard to imagine any of them without him."
Here are obituaries from ABC News, New York Times, Politico and Wikipedia.
The last remaining scion of the famous family, he was the brother of President John Kennedy, assassinated in 1963, Senator Robert Kennedy, fatally shot while campaigning for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination, and Joe Kennedy, a pilot killed in World War Two.
Just last month, Kennedy penned a piece for Newsweek titled "The Cause Of My Life," to describe his dedication to universal health care:
This is the cause of my life. It is a key reason that I defied my illness last summer to speak at the Democratic convention in Denver--to support Barack Obama, but also to make sure, as I said, "that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American...will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not just a privilege." For four decades I have carried this cause--from the floor of the United States Senate to every part of this country. It has never been merely a question of policy; it goes to the heart of my belief in a just society. Now the issue has more meaning for me--and more urgency--than ever before. But it's always been deeply personal, because the importance of health care has been a recurrent lesson throughout most of my 77 years.
Kennedy recently finished his memoir, which should be published in a few weeks, providing an unprecedented insight into the man and his family.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/0..._n_268978.html
His great-nephew goes to my school 