Joan Kennedy’s funeral on Oct. 15, held at St. Anthony Shrine in Boston, was attended by several members of the Kennedy family, including her sons — Ted Kennedy Jr., 64, and Patrick Kennedy, 58.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the controversial health and human services secretary, was also present despite his longstanding disagreements with relatives. He served as a pallbearer for his aunt one week after her passing.
Caroline Kennedy, the only surviving child of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, did not attend.
Joan’s death at age 89 marked the close of an era often referred to as Camelot, evoking the 1,000-day Kennedy presidency and the family’s golden age of influence. The name originated from an interview with Life magazine following JFK’s assassination, when Jackie Kennedy quoted the Broadway musical Camelot, based on King Arthur’s court: “One brief shining moment…”
The magic of that Camelot era has long faded. RFK Jr., who attended with his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, remains estranged from some cousins who have criticized his controversial remarks and views about vaccines and autism.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(764x255:766x257):format(webp)/caroline-joan-kennedy-george-mcgovern-gala-101525-2b370633170c40b694516a62815e6af7.jpg)
In April, shortly after RFK Jr. made derogatory statements about people with autism during his first press conference in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, several of his cousins publicly condemned his comments. They wrote an open letter describing his words as “slurs and statements that demean” individuals with autism.
“We have been reminded again and again that people with autism can and will continue to be wonderful children, brothers and sisters, and members of families,” wrote Best Buddies Founder & CEO Anthony K. Shriver and his brother, Special Olympics International Chairman Timothy Shriver, in a letter posted on the nonprofit’s website and Instagram account.
The brothers said they hoped their message would “celebrate the gifts of people with autism,” emphasizing that these individuals “can and will continue to go to school, be great friends, join teams, and contribute to their communities.”
Caroline Kennedy, 67, shares three children — Rose, 37, Tatiana, 35, and Jack, 32 — with her husband, Ed Schlossberg. Though she has served as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan and Australia, she remains known for her reserved nature, much like her mother.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/joan-kennedy-100825-1-6f20de45984c4b6da0e5452c64f382f2.jpg)
Despite her privacy, Caroline recently spoke with New York magazine for a feature on the extended Kennedy family. “Just to state the obvious though it seems often underweighted these days — there are now more than 100 adults in our family so it’s pretty different than in the past,” she said.
Her comments came months after issuing unusually sharp criticism of her cousin, RFK Jr., ahead of his confirmation hearing for health and human services secretary under Donald Trump — a move that highlighted the family’s internal rifts.
Joan Kennedy’s passing leaves a significant void in the Kennedy legacy.
According to the Carr Funeral Home’s obituary page, she is mourned “by her nearly 30 nieces and nephews, whom she continued to spend summers with in Hyannis Port, where she has always remained a valued, loved, and respected member of the Kennedy Family.”
Just three months before her death, Joan made her final public appearance in Hyannis Port, surrounded by relatives during the family’s annual Fourth of July celebration at the Kennedy compound.
