Jean Kennedy Smith, JFK sister, dies at 92

Jean Kennedy Smith, a former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland and the last surviving sibling of President John F. Kennedy, died on Wednesday.  She was 92.

Smith was the aunt of former Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-Rhode Island), now a resident of Brigantine, New Jersey.  Her youngest brother was former U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, Patrick Kennedy’s father.

The eighth of nine children born to Joseph and Rose Kennedy, she was married to Stephen Smith for 34 years before his death in 1990 at age 62.  Steve Smith managed the financial affairs of the Kennedy family, and ran Ted Kennedy’s campaign for the 1980 Democratic presidential nomination.

President Bill Clinton nominated Smith to serve as an ambassador in 1993. She spent five years in Dublin.

Patrick Kennedy’s wife, Amy, is seeking the Democratic nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 2nd district.