Overview

• Kitty Dukakis passed away on March 21, 2025, at her home in Brookline, Massachusetts, due to complications from dementia.
• She was a prominent advocate for mental health awareness and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which she credited with transforming her battle against severe depression.
• Dukakis played a significant role in advancing women’s leadership in Massachusetts, promoting historic appointments of women to high-ranking state positions during her husband’s governorship.
• Her humanitarian efforts included supporting refugee resettlement, Holocaust remembrance, and establishing the Kitty Dukakis Treatment Center for Women to address addiction treatment for underserved populations.
• As the first practicing Jew aligned with a major party presidential ticket, she broke barriers in American politics while also openly addressing the personal struggles she faced as a political spouse.