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President Joe Biden delivered the eulogy at a memorial service for Ethel Kennedy on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were in attendance for the memorial service and both spoke during the ceremony, which was held at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.
Biden said Kennedy played an "essential role in my life," as he detailed their personal relationship. When his first wife and daughter were killed in a car crash in 1972, "she was there," he said. And when Biden was elected president in 2020, he received a letter from her that said it gave her great "comfort" to know the country was in his hands. And she always sent a Valentine's Day card.
"I'm not bidin' my time waiting for you, valentine," one card from Kennedy said, Biden shared in his remarks. The commander-in-chief described how much the card meant to him.
"Ethel was a hero in her own right, full of character, full of integrity and empathy," Biden said.
And Ethel and Ted Kennedy encouraged Biden when he got tired of Congress and wanted to leave the Senate, Biden said. "She got me through a time I didn't want to stick around," the president said.
"We're a better nation and a better world because of Ethel Kennedy. To the the Kennedy family, the Biden family is here for your family as your family has always been here for us," Biden added.
FILE-Vice President Joe Biden accepts an award from Ethel Kennedy at RFK Human Rights Ripple of Hope Awards honoring Biden, Howard Schultz & Scott Minerd in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for RFK Ripple of Hope)
RELATED: Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, has died at 96
During his remarks, Obama called Ethel Kennedy a "big dose in a small package," and a "spitfire from a young age." She was passionate about everything, Obama said, from juvenile justice reform to civil rights. And Clinton called her an "amazing fireball with continuous energy."
Kennedy, the widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy died at 96 on Oct. 10, after suffering a stroke a week earlier, her family said in a statement. Together, the couple had 11 children.
A funeral was held Monday for Ethel Kennedy in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
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President Biden to deliver eulogy for Ethel Kennedy
A memorial service for Ethel Kennedy will be held Wednesday in Washington. President Joe Biden will deliver a eulogy at the Wednesday service, according to his schedule released by the White House. Rich Rubino, political analyst, joined LiveNOW from FOX to discuss.
She was by Robert F. Kennedy’s side when he was fatally shot in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, just after winning the Democratic presidential primary in California. Her brother-in-law, President John F. Kennedy, had been assassinated in Dallas less than five years earlier, the Associated Press reported.
Ethel Kennedy founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights soon after her husband’s death and advocated for causes including gun control and human rights.
Biden released a statement following the passing of Ethel Kennedy last week, saying in part "Ethel Kennedy was an American icon—a matriarch of optimism and moral courage, an emblem of resilience and service. Devoted to family and country, she had a spine of steel and a heart of gold that inspired millions of Americans, including me and Jill. We were blessed to call her a dear friend."