Patricia Kennedy Lawford, sister to political heavyweights and former wife to a movie star, died on Sunday in Manhattan. She was 82 and her death was attributed to pneumonia.
Lawford was the younger sister of President John F. Kennedy and the older sister of senators Robert Kennedy and Edward Kennedy. (There were nine Kennedy children in all.) She married the actor Peter Lawford of “Rat Pack” fame in 1954. The marriage was credited with strengthening the Kennedy family ties to Hollywood and in particular to popular singer Frank Sinatra. The Lawfords had four children and were divorced in 1966.
Her death leaves three surviving Kennedys of her generation: her brother Edward and sisters Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Jean Kennedy Smith. (Rosemary Kennedy, her mentally handicapped sister, died last year.) It’s also a reminder that JFK himself would have turned 90 years old next year.
Here’s a useful Kennedy family tree with individual profiles, courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Library.