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Sargent Shriver Dies At 95

Sargent Shriver, standing third in from the right, is photographed with President-elect John F. Kennedy in 1960. Click on the photo enlargement for a list of everyone in the picture.
AP
Sargent Shriver, standing third in from the right, is photographed with President-elect John F. Kennedy in 1960. Click on the photo enlargement for a list of everyone in the picture.

R. Sargent Shriver, a former director of the Peace Corps, has died at the age of 95 in Bethesda, Maryland. Shriver announced in 2003 that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Married to Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who died in 2009, Sargent Shriver was best known to the public as President John F. Kennedy's brother-in-law. Later in life he also became father-in-law to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who married his daughter Maria Shriver.

The AP says Shriver had more than family connections to point to:

"But his achievements were historic in their own right and changed millions of lives: the Peace Corps' first director and the leader of President Lyndon Johnson's 'War on Poverty,' out of which came such programs as Head Start and Legal Services."

"President Barack Obama called Shriver 'one of the brightest lights of the greatest generation.'"

The Special Olympics website has an appreciation of Shriver's life, including his involvement with the organization:

Sargent Shriver was involved with Special Olympics since its founding in 1968 by his wife, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. In 1984, he took on the role of President of Special Olympics, and later, in 1990, became Chairman of the Special Olympics International Board of Directors. After leaving the Board in 1996, he remained involved as Chairman of the Board Emeritus.

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Wright Bryan