THE TRAGIC LIFE OF JFK’S SISTER
January 9, 2015 Matt Blitz 12 comments
rosemary-kennedy
On January 20, 1961, the newly-elected President John F. Kennedy, at his inauguration in front of the Capital, told Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Over 800 miles away, in Jefferson, Wisconsin in an institution called “St. Coletta School for Exceptional Children” lived a 43 year old woman, who perhaps was listening to the address on the radio. Her name was Rosemary Kennedy and she was President Kennedy’s little sister.
Rose Marie (“Rosemary”) Kennedy, born on September 13, 1918, was the third child and first daughter for Joe and Rose Kennedy. No source could quite pinpoint why Rose Marie had issues, but they were apparent very early on. As we now know, there can be several factors/reasons for development disorders – genetic, infection, exposure to environmental toxins, and other complications. Rosemary’s mother claimed several times that the nurses, due to the tardiness of the doctor, tried to halt her labor, injuring the baby in the process. Even early in life, accounts describe Rosemary to be “slower to crawl, slower to walk and speak than her two bright brothers.” She had a hard time “eating with a spoon and steering her sled.” In first grade, she was having difficulty keeping up in school.
Despite all of this, many signs point to her having an otherwise happy, fulfilling life as a child and teen, participating and remaining active as a part of the wealthy and well-known family. She was described as beautiful, sweet, great company, and loquacious, and, as put in Laurence Leamer’s well-known book, The Kennedy Women: The Saga of an American Family, Rosemary was “a picturesque young woman, a snow princess with flush cheeks, gleaming smile, plump figure, and a sweetly ingratiating manner to almost everyone she met.” Her parents reported to several media outlets (who were always requesting interviews and information about the Kennedy kids) that she was training to be a Kindergarten teacher and that she “has an interest in social welfare work, she is said to harbor a secret longing to go on the stage.”
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2015/01/little-known-tragic-life-jfks-sister-rosemary-kennedy/