Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy and mother of former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is receiving hospital treatment after suffering a stroke last week, her grandson said Tuesday, October 8.


“I wanted to let you know about my incredible grandmother, Ethel Kennedy. She has had a great summer and transition into fall. Every day she enjoyed time with her children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She was able to get out on the water, visit the pier, and enjoy many lunches and dinners with family. It has been a gift to all of us and to her as well. Unfortunately, on Thursday morning she suffered a stroke in her sleep,” Joe Kennedy III said in a post on X.


“She was brought to an area hospital, where she is now receiving treatment. She is comfortable, she is getting the best care possible, and she is surrounded by family,” the former congressman continued.


Kennedy’s grandson on Tuesday asked for thoughts, prayers and his family’s privacy.


Ethel shared 11 children with Robert F. Kennedy, who she married in 1950. The former New York senator and US attorney general was assassinated in 1968 while a presidential candidate.


An environmental and human rights activist, Kennedy, 96, helped create the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, which supports the causes championed by Robert F. Kennedy.


In 2014, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.