JFK's younger sister dies at 88 in Massachusetts hospital

   Shriver had suffered a series of strokes in recent years and passed away at a Cape Cod, Massachusetts, hospital, her family said in a statement.

    Her husband, her five children and their spouses, and all 19 of her grandchildren were by her side, the family said.

    "She was the light of our lives, a mother, wife, grandmother, sister and aunt who taught us by example and with passion what it means to live a faith-driven life of love and service to others," the family said.

    Shriver was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, the fifth of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Her siblings included the late president and the late Senator Robert Kennedy, who were both assassinated in the 1960s.

    She earned a sociology degree from Stanford University in 1943 after graduating from a British boarding school while her father served as U.S. ambassador to England.

    Shriver's survivors include her sole surviving brother, Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who has been battling a brain tumor.

    Shriver was the wife of 1972 vice presidential candidate and former Peace Corp director R. Sargent Shriver, who survives her, and is the mother of former NBC newswoman Maria Shriver, who is married to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

    In addition to her husband, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in 2003, Shriver is survived by the couple's five children including Maria Shriver; Robert, a city councilman in Santa Monica, California; Timothy, chairman of Special Olympics; Mark, an executive at the charity Save The Children; and Anthony, founder and chairman of Best Buddies International, a volunteer organization for the mentally disabled.

    Shriver helped found the Special Olympics in the 1960s. Now, more than 1 million athletes in more than 160 countries participate in Special Olympics meets each year.

    "We are tremendously grateful for the extreme outpouring of support and prayer from the public as we honor our beloved founder," Special Olympics President Brady Lum said in a statement.

    "Today we celebrate the life of a woman who had the vision to create our movement. It is an enormous loss, but I know we can rest assured that her legacy will live on through her family, friends, and the millions of people around the world who she touched and transformed," he added.

    Shriver was the recipient of numerous honors, including the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which she received in 1984.