HYANNIS, Mass. (AP) | Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the presidential sister who founded the Special Olympics, was celebrated Friday at a funeral Mass as a fearless warrior for the voiceless who changed the world for millions and as an unconventional woman who smoked Cuban cigars and played tackle football.
“She was scary smart and not afraid to show it,” Maria Shriver said of her mother, who died Tuesday at age 88. “If she were here today … she would pound this podium … and ask each of you what you have done today to better the world.”
The Special Olympics torch led a procession for Eunice Kennedy Shriver past thousands of onlookers who lined the streets outside St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church as friends, family and athletes from the movement she founded in 1968 gathered for the private service.
Mrs. Shriver’s only living brother, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who has been battling brain cancer, did not attend the funeral.
Maria Shriver and her husband, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, joined other family members to carry the casket into the church, the same place where the two were married 23 years earlier.
Standing with her four brothers during her eulogy, Maria Shriver said her “mummy” liked to hang with the guys, but all her heroes, except for her brother Jack, were women. She said she was grateful that her mother’s life and work were getting so much attention, and that young women in particular saw a role model who never conformed to what society might have wanted.
“Mummy wore men’s pants, smoked Cuban cigars, and she played tackle football,” she said. “Our mother never rested, she never stopped. She was momentum on wheels.”
Loretta Claiborne, a former Special Olympics athlete and longtime friend of Eunice Shriver’s, delivered welcoming remarks at the service, also attended by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder, Jon Bon Jovi and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
“She was chosen to have a life to serve others, the weakest of the weak, the castaways, the throwaways of society, at the time they would say the mentally retarded, and I am one of those people,” Mrs. Claiborne said.
Mrs. Shriver’s 19 grandchildren each offered prayers, giving thanks to her for teaching them to sail, for insisting girls are equal to boys, and for the lesson of helping those in need. The two-hour service wrapped up with a rousing rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
Mrs. Shriver’s husband, R. Sargent Shriver, a 1972 vice presidential candidate who has Alzheimer’s disease, also was at the service. Maria Shriver said her father never minded when her mother’s hair was unkempt or she beat him in a game of tennis.
“He let her rip and he let her roar, and he loved everything about her,” she said.
The crowds of people outside, including residents, tourists and Special Olympians, were largely silent for the procession as the church bell rang and a lone bagpipe whined. After the Mass, many in the crowd clapped as family members carried the casket out of the church while others snapped photos.
She was buried at the St. Francis Xavier parish cemetery in nearby Centerville after a brief private graveside service.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.