Kyle Kennedy, granddaughter of Robert F Kennedy, dies aged 42

Kennedy taught in New York public schools and advocated for disability rights after suffering severe spinal cord injury

Kyle Kennedy, the granddaughter of Robert F Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, has died at the age of 42.

Kyle, the daughter of Michael Kennedy, who died in 1997, and Victoria Gifford Kennedy, “passed away peacefully” on 21 September at her home in Westwood, Massachusetts, according to her obituary published by Burke Funeral Homes.

Her cause of death is pending, the Westwood town clerk told the Guardian.

Born on 6 July 1984 in Washington DC, Kyle Kennedy spent much of her upbringing in Cohasset, Massachusetts, before pursuing a career as an educator. Her obituary noted she was dedicated to early childhood education and worked on educational reform for disadvantaged children and later advocated for people living with disabilities.

She taught in public schools in New York City in the program Teach for America after graduating college, where she had earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Georgetown University, a master of science in early education from Pace University, and a master of education in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

In August 2012, she married Liam Kerr in Boston, with whom she had three children – Conor, Josie and Declan. The obituary refers to Kerr as Kyle’s “former husband”.

An avid sports player and long-distance runner, Kyle ran the 2019 Boston Marathon in a “driving rainstorm”, finishing the race 20 minutes faster than her father.

A year later, she suffered a severe spinal cord injury that “resulted in long term paralysis, disability, and other medical challenges”. Per her obituary, her final years “brought struggles but Kyle fought to maintain her dry wit and determination through it all, trying to be the best possible mother to her sons”.

In this time, she began advocating for people with disabilities, “including testifying at the Massachusetts state house in a hearing on discrimination in disabled health care”.

Kyle is survived by her sons, Conor, 12, and Declan, 10; her former husband, Liam; her mother, Victoria; her brother Michael; sister Rory; and her nieces and nephews McKie, Quinn, Jack and Caleb.