Ted Kennedy’s wish fulfilled as Hyannis Port house is donated to charity
The family of US Sen. Edward Kennedy, watch as his casket is carried by an Honor Guard, to a hearse at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts on August 27, 2009.
Ted Kennedy's Hyannis Port home has been given to the institute in his name, fulfilling wishes outlined in the Massachusetts senator's will.
Sen. Edward Kennedy died at his home on Cape Cod in 2009 at the age of 77 after a yearlong struggle with brain cancer.
The main house on the Kennedys’ oceanfront compound was the scene of many of the famed political family’s gatherings, according to the Associated Press.
The 12-bedroom, 9,000-square-foot house hosted the family’s famous touch football games, the wedding of Patrick Kennedy and the wedding reception for Ted Kennedy’s niece Caroline Kennedy.
It was the summer White House for President John F. Kennedy and was the place the family gathered after he was assassinated in November 1963.
When John F. Kennedy Jr. died in a plane crash in 1999, the family met to mourn there. And Ted Kennedy spent his final days there before dying of brain cancer in 2009.
Kennedy had promised his mother to preserve the home for charity, the Boston-based Edward M. Kennedy Institute said in a release.
The house would be used for educational programs and eventually opened to the public.
The Kennedy family, which still owns other homes in the compound, would continue to use the property, according to The New York Times.
According to the AP Ted Kennedy’s son, Patrick Kennedy said there could be "no greater testament to his legacy" than have the home turned into a place of learning.
"My father had great passion for the United States Senate," he reportedly said. "It was his life for many years."
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.