Edward (Ted) Kennedy

A hero to me is a person who is helpful and makes the world a better place. A hero is a man who is admired for his deeds, a model who people look up to. I think Ted Kennedy is a hero because he was a U.S. Senator for so many years and reached out to everyone. I picked Ted Kennedy because he was always fighting for the troops and their families. He was always trying to make sure disabled people live the same life as a normal person. Ted was always fighting for affordable healthcare. Senator Kennedy believed that civil rights remain America’s great unfinished business, and he had a major role in every civil rights battle in Congress for the past half century.

Edward “Ted” Moore Kennedy was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 22, 1932. Ted was the youngest of 9 children. Ted Kennedy was the third longest-serving member of the United States Senate in American history. People of Massachusetts elected him 9 times- a record with only one other senator. He called healthcare “the cause of my life.”

Ted’s mother’s name was Rose Fitzgerald and his father’s name was Joseph P. Kennedy. His father was a millionaire. By the time Ted was 11 he had already changed schools ten times. In 1944, brother, Joe Jr. was killed when his plane was shot down during a Navy mission. In 1948, his sister, Kathleen, died in a private plane crash. Ted’s older brother, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. His closest brother, Robert, was assassinated during his presidential campaign on June 5, 1968. He died in the early hours of June 6, 1968. After all of these incidents and the others soon to follow, would become called “The Kennedy Curse.”

In 1946, Ted went to Milton Academy, a college prep boarding school eight miles south of Boston. While he was there he was interested in doing athletics, drama, debate and the glee club. Ted graduated in 1950. He went to Harvard University and followed in the footsteps of his brothers. Ted was first elected to the U.S. Senate in November 1962. After that he was elected 8 more times. He served for 46 years as a U.S Senator.

Ted lived in Hyannis, Massachusetts, with his wife Vicki. He also lived with his 5 children Kara, Edward Jr., and Patrick Kennedy, and Curran and Caroline Raclin, and his sister, Jean Kennedy Smith.

On August 25, 2009 Edward “Ted” Moore Kennedy’s life sadly came to an end. The cause of Ted’s death was brain cancer. He passed away during the night at his Cape Cod, Massachusetts, home. His funeral mass was August 29, 2009. Ted lived from 1932-2009.