Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy and a passionate advocate for human rights, has died after suffering a stroke, a family member confirmed to CBS News. She was 96 years old.

She suffered a stroke in her sleep on Oct. 3, her grandson Joe Kennedy III posted on social media earlier this week. He described his “incredible grandmother” as a “strong woman who lived a remarkably fulfilling life.”

In a post on Thursday, he wrote: “It is with our hearts full of love that we announce the passing of our great grandmother Ethel Kennedy. She died this morning as a result of a stroke she suffered last week. Together with the work of her life.” For social justice and human rights, our mother leaves behind nine children, 34 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren as well as numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom love her very much.”

Ethel Kennedy, a matriarch of the Kennedy political dynasty, gave birth to her eleventh child, Rory, six months after her husband was murdered in 1968, celebrating his victory in the crucial Democratic presidential primary in California.

In the months between her husband’s death and the birth of her youngest child, she founded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation in October 1968. The organization honors her husband’s and others’ commitment to human rights and public service by supporting programs for human rights activists around the world.

“For more than half a century, my mother has advocated for justice and stood with human rights defenders around the world,” her daughter Kerry wrote on Facebook on April 11, her mother’s 96th birthday.

Ethel Skakel Kennedy was born in Chicago in 1928 and grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her father built a successful coal company and made the family rich. According to the JFK Library website, she was only 17 when she met her future husband, Bobby Kennedy, who was dating her sister Patricia at the time.

Ethel and Bobby were married on June 17, 1950 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Greenwich. The couple was passionate about public service and supported John F. Kennedy during Bobby’s 1960 presidential bid. Bobby Kennedy served as attorney general in his brother’s administration.

After JFK’s assassination in 1963She continued to support Bobby in his political career. At that time he was one of the main candidates for the White House he was shot by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in June 1968.

After her husband’s death, in addition to her work at the Human Rights Center, Ethel Kennedy served as co-chair of the Coalition of Gun Control and was active in many other human rights organizations.

President Obama honored her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a 2014 White House ceremony, where she was praised for her perseverance and generosity.

“She has made extraordinary efforts to rally support for causes that are close to her heart,” Obama said at the ceremony.

Over the years, the family experienced further tragedies, including the deaths of two of their children – David, who died of a drug overdose in 1984, and Michael, who died in a skiing accident in 1997. In 1999, her daughter Rory’s wedding was marred by an accident tragedy when her nephew John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Carolyn died in a plane crash on the way to the wedding in Cape Cod.

Ethel Kennedy leaves behind nine of her children and a large extended family, many of whom are also involved in public life. Your son Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president in 2024 and dropped out in August to support former President Donald Trump.