Patricia Kennedy Lawford, the sister of President John F Kennedy and wife of English actor Peter Lawford, who tirelessly supported the political campaigns of her brothers, died on Sunday at the age of 82.
A life-long lover of the arts who devoted much of her time to charity work, Lawford died surrounded by family at her home in New York from complications from pneumonia.
”Everyone who knew Pat adored her,” her brother, Senator Edward Kennedy said in a statement issued by the family.
”She was admired for her great style, for her love and support of the arts, her wit and generosity — and for the singular sense of wonder and joy she brought to our lives. We grieve her loss.”
Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1924, the sixth child and fourth daughter of daughter of Rose and Joseph Kennedy, Lawford was educated partly in London where her father was United States ambassador to Britain.
She attended Rosemont College in Pennsylvania and pursued an interest in the theatre that continued after she graduated. She worked in the New York production department of the NBC television network and moved to Los Angeles where she took a job in radio.
She married Peter Lawford, whom she had met through her brother John in 1954, and the couple had four children.
They lived in Santa Monica, California, where her husband gained a reputation as a ladies’ man and garnered at least as much attention for his off-screen antics as a member of Frank Sinatra’s ”Rat Pack” as for his acting.
The couple were divorced in 1965.
Apart from her work in show business, Lawford campaigned for her brothers, holding tea parties with her mother and sisters during John Kennedy’s race for Congress in 1946. She was also active in the Senate and presidential campaigns of her brothers and Robert and Edward.
As with her assassinated brothers, John and Robert, tragedy also befell the five Kennedy daughters. Rosemary, was born mentally impaired, and another, Kathleen, was killed in a plane crash in 1948.
Lawford moved to New York in 1965 where she remained active in the arts scene and devoted her time to charity auctions and fundraising.
She is survived by four children and 10 grandchildren. – Reuters