Then there was the death of the family matriarch, Rose Kennedy, who died in 1995 at the age of 104. She had been the daughter of a Boston mayor, wife of an ambassador, and mother of three U.S. senators, one of whom became president. The funerals of two other young Kennedys, David, Robert's son, and Michael, were conducted beyond the limelight. David died of a drug overdose in 1984, and Michael died in a skiing accident Dec. 31, 1997. They obviously have had their problems as we all have.
Nobody is perfect.
In times of stress and tragedy they have obviously found great comfort in their religion,'' Dolan added. To a great extent, they also have the support of much of the nation. He said it was fitting that Catholic funerals are ordinarily public affairs. We do it as a community,'' Beal said. All rights reserved.