Kyle Francis Kennedy, an educator and granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, died last month after a severe spinal cord injury that resulted in long-term paralysis and years of medical issues, officials said Tuesday.
She was 42.
Kennedy died at her home in Westwood, Massachusetts, on Sept. 21, and her cause of death is pending, Westwood Town Clerk Dottie Powers told NBC News.
Kennedy “passed away peacefully” after having “built a career devoted to early childhood education,” Burke Funeral Homes said in a statement.
“Blessed with a formidable intellect, dry wit, and beauty, she will be remembered for her devotion to her children Conor, Josephine, and Declan, and her support for educational reform for disadvantaged children and for people living with disabilities,” the funeral home said.
Kennedy grew up in Cohasset, Massachusetts, and attended the prestigious Milton Academy before matriculating to Georgetown University.
She spent a semester abroad in Florence, Italy, which “left a lasting mark” and led to her “deep love of Tuscan Renaissance art and a lifelong talent for making pasta dishes from scratch,” the obituary said.
She earned a master’s degree in early education from Pace University and another master’s in education policy from Harvard.
Kennedy spent two years in the Teach for America program, working in the New York City public school system in “an experience that launched a career in education,” according to her obituary.
“She went on to become a passionate advocate for more equitable elementary education and charter schooling, later working with technology companies focused on reforming and improving school curricula, and as a coach for educators working with young students,” the obituary said.
Kennedy was the daughter of Michael LeMoyne Kennedy, the sixth child of RFK and Ethel Kennedy.
Michael LeMoyne Kennedy was just 39 when he was fatally injured on Dec. 31, 1997, in Colorado, slamming into a tree while playing ski-football on an icy Aspen slope.
Like many in her famed family, Kyle Kennedy was fond of the outdoors and sports. She ran in the 2019 Boston Marathon, competing under her married name, Kyle Kerr.
But she spent the last several years of life unable to walk.
“In 2020, Kyle suffered a severe spinal cord injury that resulted in long term paralysis, disability, and other medical challenges,” the obituary said. “The years that followed brought struggles but Kyle fought to maintain her dry wit and determination through it all, trying to be the best possible mother to her sons and caring for her two beloved, ill-behaved Wheaten terriers.”
Kyle Kennedy Kerr speaks at the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Awards in 2018. Michael Loccisano / Getty for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
It was not disclosed how Kennedy suffered the 2020 injury.
“She also began to advocate for people living with disabilities, including testifying at the Massachusetts state house in a hearing on discrimination in disabled health care,” the funeral home added.
Kennedy is survived by her sons, Conor, 12, and Declan, 10; her ex-husband, Liam Kerr; her mother, Victoria Denise Gifford; her brother, Michael LeMoyne Kennedy Jr.; and her sister, Rory Gifford Kennedy.