First wife of Sen. Edward Kennedy dies
BOSTON (AP) — Joan B. Kennedy, the former wife of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy who endured a troubled marriage marked by family tragedies, her husband’s infidelities and her own decades-long struggles with alcoholism and mental health, died on Wednesday. She was 89.
The former Joan Bennett, one of the last remaining members of a family generation that included President John F. Kennedy, was a model and classically-trained pianist when she married Ted Kennedy in 1958.
Her husband was elected to the U.S. Senate and became among the country’s most respected legislators despite initial misgivings that he was capitalizing on his family connections.
Her death comes about a year after Ethel Kennedy, the wife of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, died at the age of 96, having raised their 11 children after he was assassinated, and remaining dedicated to social causes and the family’s legacy for decades thereafter.