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Farewell Mrs. Shriver

• August 11th, 2009

I will never forget that day in 1995 that over the telephone intercom I heard “Eunice Shriver on line 2 for you) I stared at the phone dumbfounded and like a dream when I picked it up and said this is Lynne I was still not sure who was on the other end, could it really be THE Eunice Shriver? Sister to President Kennedy, champion of Special Olympics and sage founder and director of The Kennedy Foundation?? The first words out of her mouth with that clipped Boston accent assured me that yes, this was Eunice Shriver and she was calling me!

Her call was to tell me I had been selected to receive the prestigious Joseph P Kennedy award for leadership. I was to receive the award at the United Nations where her daughter, Maria would host the ceremony. What a wonderful gift to Hope House Foundation, we were being honored by the Kennedy Foundation for having the courage and determination to close all our group homes and support people living in their own home. The recognition felt great and the honor of being selected still resonates today.

At the ceremony she was gracious, opinionated but most of all totally focused on what she wanted to see for people with disabilities, a life of inclusion…..her passion and her influence set a generation moving in that direction. Rest in peace Mrs. Shriver and I as well as so many others will continue your mission