Joan Kennedy

Joan Bennett Kennedy is the ex-wife of the late Senator Senator Ted Kennedy. Joan Kennedy, the mother of Kennedy's three children, has struggled with alcoholism for many years. The couple divorced after being married for 25 years, in 1982.http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TedKennedy/story?id=8428638

In 2005, the Kennedy children became the legal guardians of their mother Joan due to her chronic alcoholism and mental illness.http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1742030,CST-NWS-kennedywives30.articlehttp://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TedKennedy/story?id=8428638

Joan was in attendance at the funeral for her ex-husband, but stayed out of the spotlight saying she didn't want to be intrusive.http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TedKennedy/story?id=8428638

Joan Kennedy's son is Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy. Patric Kennedy has also struggled with alcoholism and depression. After a recent tirade against the press and policy, Joan Kennedy said Patrick probably needs some "personal time" after losing his father.http://news.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20100312mom_pat_kennedy_reeling_from_dads_death/srvc=home&position=1

Joan Kennedy, ex-wife of Senator Ted Kennedy, has had a long history of alcoholism that has been well documented over the years. Her addiction was so bad that Kennedy even drank mouthwash and vanilla extract for their high alcohol content and because the smell was not as noticeable as liquor.http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/the_fall_of_joan/ Joan and Ted divorced in 1982. After the divorce Ms. Kennedy, who would struggle to stay sober, was arrested on multiple occasions for drunk driving and suffered kidney failure. Her three children, Kara Kennedy Allen, Edward M. Kennedy and Patrick Kennedy were given temporary legal guardianship of Ms. Kennedy in 2004 because she was unable to take care of herself.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7474714/

In 2005, Joan Kennedy was found lying on a street near where she lived in Boston, Massachusetts. She had a concussion and a fractured shoulder. Her children were then named as her legal guardians and her relative Webster E. Janssen was given control over her estate in Hyannis Porthttp://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/the_fall_of_joan/. Kennedy underwent surgery for breast cancer later that same year. Senator Ted Kennedy died in 2009.http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/the_fall_of_joan/