He was 77.
“Edward M. Kennedy, the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply, died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port (Massachusetts),” the Kennedy family said in a statement.
Kennedy was diagnosed in May 2008 with a malignant brain tumor, discovered after he suffered a seizure at his family’s famous compound in Hyannis, Mass.
Doctors initially said the cancer could kill Kennedy within a year. But the tough old Democrat fought bravely to outlast the grim prognosis.
His large family took advantage of the extra time.
“It let us have the chance to tell him how much we love him,” said his son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.). “And him to be there to hear it.”
Kennedy was largely absent from Washington after the diagnosis.
Rumors of his deteriorating condition heated up when Kennedy missed three big August events: His sister Eunice’s funeral, the confirmation vote for Sonia Sotomayor, and the ceremony where he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Kennedy’s low-profile over his last month was a dramatic contrast with his tumultuous life.
Thrust into the role of family patriarch by the assassinations of his two brothers, the star-crossed Kennedy endured a heart-rending series of tragedies – several of them self-inflicted.
The Massachusetts Democrat never fully escaped the taint of Mary Jo Kopechne and Chappaquiddick. He struggled with alcohol, and suffered through the untimely deaths of nephews David by drug overdose, Michael in a skiing accident and JFK Jr. in a plane crash.
He never reached the White House, absorbing a stinging defeat in his 1980 challenge to incumbent Jimmy Carter. Critics said he lacked his brother John’s intellect and his brother Bobby’s passion.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/08/25/2009-08-25_sen_ted_kennedy_last_of_the_camelot_court_has_died_at_age_77.html#ixzz0PGdWjFEh
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Ted Kennedy dies at age 77 after year-long battle with brain cancer
