Nephew Of JFK Reflects On Assassination, Welcomes A New Kennedy
By Cleve Bryan
POMONA, N.J., (CBS) -- Fifty years ago tomorrow, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. That bullet silenced an iconic president and devastated a nation.
While the nephew of JFK remembers that faithful day, he is also welcoming a new Kennedy.
It's the kind of flashbulb arrival to this world that comes with being a Kennedy. Newborn Nora Kara Kennedy is heading home with mother Amy and father Patrick, a former congressman, and nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy.
"We're just looking forward to going home, having her home for the holidays," Amy Kennedy said.
Patrick Kennedy continued his father Ted Kennedy's legacy, serving 16 years as a congressman from Rhode Island. Now Kennedy lives in Brigantine with his wife Amy, her daughter Harper and their son Owen. After battling his own addiction and mental health issues he still advocates for mental health benefits, but fatherhood is his biggest focus.
"My father was not only my father, but he was father to my cousins Caroline and John, and he was father to all of my Robert Kennedy cousins. This notion cannot be taken for granted, that parents have such a meaningful impact on their children's lives and we can both be here and present is a real blessing," he said.
Kennedy says the birth of his daughter before the 50th anniversary of his Uncle JFK's assassination is symbolic of the circle of life.
"We can look back in time and think about what would have been had my uncles lived, but we have to live for today and we have to live for the future and they would want us to do that and that is why this marks such a special occasion," he said.
When asked about the names Owen for his son and now Nora for his brand new daughter, he said they are not names in the Kennedy family before. They are brand new names for brand new people, he hopes will carve out their own future.
