Overview

• She died peacefully in her sleep at her Boston home on Oct. 8, according to a family statement released by Massachusetts Democratic Party chair Steve Kerrigan.
• Her sons, Ted Kennedy Jr. and Patrick Kennedy, praised her courage and honesty and highlighted her example for people facing mental health conditions.
• A classically trained pianist and music teacher, she authored the 1992 bestseller The Joy of Classical Music and supported the Boston Pops, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Boston Council for the Arts and Humanities.
• Boston Pops conductor laureate John Williams lauded her dedication to young people and said she will be remembered as part of the Boston Symphony family.
• Funeral and calling-hour details are pending and will be posted by Carr Funeral Home; she is survived by two sons, nine grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and a sister, and her daughter Kara died in 2011.