Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy (July 22, 1890-January 22, 1995) was the wife of Joseph Kennedy and the mother of John F. Kennedy.

Birth
Born Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts she was the eldest child of John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald and his wife, Mary Josephine Hannon. "Honey Fitz" was a prominent figure in Boston politics and served one term as a member of United States Congress and two terms as the Mayor of Boston.

As a young child, Rose lived in an Italianate/Mansard-style home in the Ashmont Hill section of Dorchester, Massachusetts and attended the local Girl's Latin School. The home later burned down, but a plaque at Welles Avenue and Harley Street proclaims "Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Square". The plaque was dedicated by her son, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, on Rose's 102nd birthday in 1992.

Rose studied at the convent school Kasteel Bloemendal in Vaals, The Netherlands, and graduated from Dorchester High School in 1906. She also attended the New England Conservatory in Boston where she studied piano. After being refused permission by her father to attend Wellesley College, Rose enrolled at the Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart (as it was known at that time). In 1908, Rose and her father embarked on a tour of Europe. She and "Honey Fitz" had a private audience with Pope Pius X at the Vatican.

Marriage and Children
On Rose married Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. after a courtship of more than seven years. They first lived in a home in Brookline that is now the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site. Rose and Joseph had the following nine children:

Rose was predeceased by her husband, Joseph, in 1969, and four of her nine children: Joseph Jr. in 1944, Kathleen in 1948, John F. in 1963 and Robert in 1968. Just eight months after John F. was assassinated, Rose's mother, Mary, died at the age of 98.

Rose Kennedy's strict Roman Catholic faith often placed her at odds with her children, most noteably daughter Kathleen. She refused to attended Kathleen's wedding to William John Robert Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, an Anglican and the eldest son and heir of the 10th Duke of Devonshire on May 6, 1944. When Kathleen died in a plane crash in 1948, Rose again spurned her daughter and only father Joseph Kennedy attended the funeral.

Rosemary Kennedy died on at the age of 86, Patricia Kennedy Lawford died on at the age of 82, Eunice Kennedy Shriver died on, aged 88, and Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy died on , aged 77, all from natural causes. As of August 2009, only one child is still living: 81-year old Jean Kennedy Smith.

Illness and Death
In 1984, at the age of 94, Rose suffered a severe stroke and she had to use a wheelchair for the rest of her life (as did her husband when he suffered a stroke). She maintained her residence at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts and was cared for by private nurses and staff. On, Rose died from complications from pneumonia at the age of 104, outliving four of her nine children. She continues to be the longest-lived presidential relative in history. Her father died in 1954 at age 87 and her mother died in 1964 at the age of 98.

Legacy
Well-known for her philanthropic efforts and for leading the Grandparents' Parade at age 90 at the Special Olympics, Rose's life and work are documented in the Oscar-nominated short documentary Rose Kennedy: A Life to Remember.

Rose is also one of several women from the United States to have the noble papal title countess bestowed upon her in 1951 by Pope Pius XII in recognition of her "exemplary motherhood and many charitable works."

Miscellaneous

 * The Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston, Massachusetts is named after her.
 * The Rose Kennedy Cocktail is a popular drink in bars in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States.
 * Played by Michelle Trout in the film, Lives and Deaths of the Poets (2009).