Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and Eunice Kennedy Shriver arrive at Hyannis Airport to be with their parents at nearby Hyannis Port, Mass., Nov. 22, 1963. Shriver, who carried on the Kennedy's public service tradition by founding the Special Olympics and championing the rights of the mentally disabled, died Aug. 11, 2009, her family said in a statement. She was 88.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver is shown swimming with youngsters in a pool at the day camp for mentally challenged children at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Aug. 21, 1964. She founded the Special Olympics in 1968.

One-week-old Paul Fitzgerald Kennedy Shriver makes his camera debut and his first trip as he leaves Logan International Airport in Boston with his mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver and his father, Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver, July 27, 1965.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver runs past her son Robert in a touch football game in Washington, Sept. 28, 1965. Shriver was born in Brookline, Mass., the fifth of nine children to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. She earned a sociology degree from Stanford University in 1943 after graduating from a British boarding school while her father served as ambassador to England.

Mrs. Sargent Shriver speaking at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, March 5, 1966 in New York. As celebrity, social worker and activist, Shriver was credited with transforming America's view of the mentally disabled from institutionalized patients to friends, neighbors and athletes. Her efforts were inspired in part by the struggles of her mentally disabled sister, Rosemary.

Sargent Shriver and his wife, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, watch a satirical presentation of a day in the life of Shriver by the staff of the Office of Economic Opportunity in Washington, April 24, 1968. She married Shriver in 1953 and the two have five children.

Eunice Shriver, left, and Illinois lieutenant-Governor Paul Simon watch as participating members of the International Special Olympics parade at Soldier Field in Chicago, Aug. 13, 1970.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver jog on the Ellipse in Washington to kick off a 3,182-mile fund-raising jaunt for the benefit of the Special Olympics, Feb. 6, 1975.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, shown at Edward Kennedy's annual summertime party at his home in Hyannisport, Mass., July 30, 1983.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver smiles with her husband, Sargent, as they stand before a photograph of her brother, the late President John F. Kennedy, as they attend a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Peace Corps in evening, Saturday, March 2, 1986 in Boston at the J.F.K. Library. Sargent Shriver was the first director of the Peace Corps which was established during Kennedy's administration.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver walks away from her brother Robert Kennedy's grave after a visit at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Sept. 22, 1986.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver arrives at the Golden Jubilee Gala of the Viennese Opera Ball at New York's Waldorf Astoria, Jan. 28, 2005.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver arrives at a gathering in the Ronald Reagan building to pay tribute to former first lady Nancy Reagan in Washington, May 11, 2005.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver waves to the congregation at Brookings Community AME Church in Los Angeles where she attended church services with daughter Maria Shriver and son-in-law Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nov. 5, 2006.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dances with his mother-in-law Eunice Kennedy Shriver after giving his acceptance speech in Beverly Hills, Calif., Nov. 7, 2006.

Eunice Shriver Kennedy attends an event at U.N. Headquarters in New York, Friday, Nov. 10, 2006. After her death at the age of 88, President Barack Obama said, "Her leadership greatly enriched the lives of Special Olympians throughout the world, who have experienced the pride and joy of competition and achievement thanks to her vision."