Kennedy family tragedy as granddaughter of Bobby and Ethel dies aged 42

Kyle Kennedy, niece of Robert Kennedy Jr and granddaughter of Robert F ‘Bobby’ Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, has died age 42.

Kyle was the daughter of Michael Kennedy and one of 34 grandchildren of Bobby Kennedy.

According to her obituary, she died on September 21 at her Westwood Massachusetts home. Her cause of death has not been disclosed.

Kyle had been living with long-term paralysis after suffering a severe spinal cord injury in 2020.

The specific circumstances surrounding how Kyle sustained the spinal cord injury have not been publicly disclosed. She spent her final years advocating for people living with disabilities.

Her activism included testifying at a hearing on discrimination in health care for people with disabilities.

“The years that followed 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 and caring for her two beloved, ill-behaved Wheaten terriers,” her touching obituary read.

“She also began to advocate for people living with disabilities, including testifying at the Massachusetts state house in a hearing on discrimination in disabled health care.”

She was laid to rest in a private funeral.

Kyle’s father Michael died in 1997 after he hit a tree in a tragic skiing accident. She also lost her infant daughter Josie, the twin sister of her son Conor now 12, who died days after birth.

Kyle worked as an educator. She attended Milton Academy before majoring in history at Georgetown University. She later earned two master’s degrees from Pace University and Harvard University including a Master of Education at Harvard University. She joined Teach for America and taught for two years in the New York City public school system. 

Along with her work in schools, she was also an avid runner and completed the Boston Marathon in 2019, even beating her father’s own time by 20 minutes.

Kyle Kennedy and Liam Kerr were married in August 2012 in a ceremony at the historic Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, however the couple later split and he is noted in her obituary as her “former husband” however he remained a part of the Kennedy clan up until her death,

Kyle is survived by her 12-year-old Conor and 10-year-old Declan, her mother, brother Michael, sister Rory, and nieces and nephews McKie, Quinn, Jack and Caleb.