BEDFORD, N.Y. (AP) - The Kennedy family, so practiced at public mourning, is grieving again after the estranged wife of Robert Kennedy Jr. was found dead at her home in suburban New York.
Mary Richardson Kennedy, 52, an architect who struggled with drug and alcohol charges in recent years, was discovered dead Wednesday on the family's property in Bedford.
An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday. No cause of death had been released.
On Thursday morning, people who knew the family, and some strangers, as well, dropped by home to leave flowers at the front door.
"I think every family has its tragedies. But this is too much. You have to feel for them," said Kim O'Connell, 59, of Bedford Hills, as she dropped off a bouquet of Calla lilies. She said she had met Mary and Robert while working at their health club.
"I just thought she was just a lady. I woke up this morning, and I wanted to do something," she said.
The former Mary Richardson married Robert Kennedy Jr., a prominent environmental lawyer and the son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, in 1994 aboard a boat in the scenic Hudson River Valley. The couple had four children, the youngest born in July 2001. Robert Kennedy Jr. also has two children from a previous marriage.
She was an architect and designer and had overseen the renovation of the couple's home into an environmentally advanced showpiece.
In a statement issued by Robert Kennedy Jr.'s chief of staff, the family said Mary Kennedy "inspired our family with her kindness, her love, her gentle soul and generous spirit.
"Mary was a genius at friendship, a tremendously gifted architect and a pioneer and relentless advocate of green design who enhanced her cutting edge, energy efficient creations with exquisite taste and style," the family said.
Her family cited her devotion to her children in remembering her.
"We deeply regret the death of our beloved sister Mary, whose radiant and creative spirit will be sorely missed by those who loved her," the family said in a statement issued by attorney Kerry Lawrence. "Our heart goes out to her children who she loved without reservation."
Mary Richardson had known the Kennedys for years, through her friendship with Robert Kennedy Jr.'s sister, Kerry Kennedy, whom she met at boarding school when they were teenagers. She had been Kerry Kennedy's maid of honor at her wedding in 1990 to now-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The couple later divorced.
But recent years had seen darker moments.
She had had trouble with drugs and alcohol and had two high-profile arrests around the time her husband filed for divorce in 2010.
Kennedy was first arrested May 15 of that year on a charge of driving while intoxicated after a police officer reported seeing her drive her car over a curb near the family's Bedford home. Her only passenger was a dog, and police said she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.11 percent; the legal limit is 0.08 percent. Her license was suspended.
At the time of her sentencing, famous family and friends spoke in support of her.