Rosemary Kennedy

Epic card · No. 8806

Rose Marie "Rosemary" Kennedy (September 13, 1918 – January 7, 2005) was the eldest daughter born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. She was a sister of President John F. Kennedy and senators Robert F. and Ted Kennedy. As a child she reportedly exhibited developmental delays. In her young adult years, she became "increasingly irritable and difficult", according to the recollection of her sister Eunice. In response to these issues, her father arranged a lobotomy on her in 1941, when she was 23 years of age. The procedure left her permanently incapacitated and rendered her unable to speak intelligibly. She spent most of the rest of her life being cared for at St. Coletta, an institution in Jefferson, Wisconsin. The truth about her situation and whereabouts was kept secret for decades. While she was initially isolated from her siblings and extended family following her lobotomy, she did go on to visit them during her later life.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Photograph by Richard Sears in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston., Public domain