Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald was born in Boston (1890-1995), oldest child of John Honey Fitz Fitzgerald, as I noted. In their first 18 years of marriage, Rose gave birth to 9 children from Joseph Jr in 1915 to Edward in 1932.
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Ambassador Joseph Kennedy and Rose, with 5 of their children
in London, 1938
in London, 1938
In the late 1930s, her husband was named US ambassador to Britain. During their time in Europe, the arch-isolationist Kennedy made it his mission to prevent America entering the war against Germany. In 1938-9, while Fascist persecutions in Germany intensified, Joe Kennedy was strengthening his faith in Nazism. He had a solution to The Jewish Problem; he said he had worked out with Chamberlain a plan to ship all German Jews to Africa. In Sept 1940, Kennedy again sought a personal meeting with Hitler because he believed he could bring about closeness between the USA and Germany. Then Kennedy Snr had to take his nasty pro-Nazi beliefs back home.
The losses were relentless. Rose’s eldest son Joseph Jr fought for the Allies in the Navy anyhow and was killed in action in Aug 1944. Daughter Kathleen was a Red Cross nurse in London and wanted to marry the Protestant Marquess of Hartington but Cavendish died fighting in WW2. Later Kathleen wanted to marry another English aristocrat but she died in a plane crash in May 1948. Finally I discussed how in 1941 her daughter Rosemary was lobotomised at 22 at Joseph Sr’s insistence, and lived in a care home.
As Rose's younger sons grew older, they began to look toward politics, and she encouraged them. She had learned from her father how to manage public functions and how to conduct political campaigns on behalf of her sons. When son John stood in 1946 for the Massachusetts 11th Congressional District seat, previously held by her father Honey Fitzgerald, Rose was excited.
And behind-the-scenes dealing didn’t phase her. After John's victory in 1946, his next big battle was for the US Senate. During his 1952 campaign to unseat Henry Cabot Lodge, Rose was the hostess at many Kennedy Teas sponsored by the Democratic Party.
In her son John's 1960 presidential campaign, Rose again did her utmost, going to meetings every night. Her greatest thrill was in 1961 when John became the 35th American President. Since John's wife Jacqueline had just given birth, Rose and her daughters and daughters-in-law helped host the White House events.
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The new President thanking his mother
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The losses were relentless. Rose’s eldest son Joseph Jr fought for the Allies in the Navy anyhow and was killed in action in Aug 1944. Daughter Kathleen was a Red Cross nurse in London and wanted to marry the Protestant Marquess of Hartington but Cavendish died fighting in WW2. Later Kathleen wanted to marry another English aristocrat but she died in a plane crash in May 1948. Finally I discussed how in 1941 her daughter Rosemary was lobotomised at 22 at Joseph Sr’s insistence, and lived in a care home.
As Rose's younger sons grew older, they began to look toward politics, and she encouraged them. She had learned from her father how to manage public functions and how to conduct political campaigns on behalf of her sons. When son John stood in 1946 for the Massachusetts 11th Congressional District seat, previously held by her father Honey Fitzgerald, Rose was excited.
And behind-the-scenes dealing didn’t phase her. After John's victory in 1946, his next big battle was for the US Senate. During his 1952 campaign to unseat Henry Cabot Lodge, Rose was the hostess at many Kennedy Teas sponsored by the Democratic Party.
In her son John's 1960 presidential campaign, Rose again did her utmost, going to meetings every night. Her greatest thrill was in 1961 when John became the 35th American President. Since John's wife Jacqueline had just given birth, Rose and her daughters and daughters-in-law helped host the White House events.
No mother should ever have to bury her own child.
President John F. Kennedy's burial at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va
President John F. Kennedy's burial at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va
From left: JFK's mother Rose, his brother Attorney General Robert and his widow Jackie.
1963 Chicago Sun Times
Rose’s son John was assassinated in Dallas in Nov 1963, during his first term as President. Her next son Robert, Attorney General and later a Democratic senator from New York, was assassinated in Los Angeles in 1968, while campaigning for President. Imagine a mother’s everlasting pain in losing her son in war, daughter in a plane crash, virtually losing another daughter in an operating theatre and burying her two more politician sons.
In the aftermath of the terrible Chappaquiddick accident in July 1969, Rose rallied to son Edward's aid and helped to rejuvenate his political career by campaigning for his re-election to the US Senate. He kept his Senate seat for the next three decades.
1963 Chicago Sun Times
Rose’s son John was assassinated in Dallas in Nov 1963, during his first term as President. Her next son Robert, Attorney General and later a Democratic senator from New York, was assassinated in Los Angeles in 1968, while campaigning for President. Imagine a mother’s everlasting pain in losing her son in war, daughter in a plane crash, virtually losing another daughter in an operating theatre and burying her two more politician sons.
In the aftermath of the terrible Chappaquiddick accident in July 1969, Rose rallied to son Edward's aid and helped to rejuvenate his political career by campaigning for his re-election to the US Senate. He kept his Senate seat for the next three decades.
Much of her later years was devoted to securing public support for the campaign to enlighten the public about mental retardation. Her “Joseph Kennedy Foundation” (sic) donated millions to hospitals, institutions and day-care centres across the nation. She was an effective campaigner and a dedicated fund-raiser; she remained a symbol of progressive Democratic politics.
After becoming a widow in 1969, Rose loved to walk alone. She wrote her autobiography in 1974 and spent the rest of her life in relative peace. But a stroke in 1984 left her in a wheelchair. Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy died in her Mass. home in 1995, at 104.
After becoming a widow in 1969, Rose loved to walk alone. She wrote her autobiography in 1974 and spent the rest of her life in relative peace. But a stroke in 1984 left her in a wheelchair. Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy died in her Mass. home in 1995, at 104.