January 18, 2011
Today, we join the country to mourn the passing of Sargent Shriver– an American peacebuilder, political leader, and activist. During his long career in public service, Shriver was the first leader of the Peace Corps for President Kennedy, and ran the “War on Poverty” during Lyndon Johnson’s Administration. He inspired, directed, or founded numerous social programs and organizations, including Head Start, VISTA, Job Corps, Community Action, Upward Bound, Foster Grandparents, Special Olympics, the National Center on Poverty Law, Legal Services. He was surrounded by his loving family. The Shriver family has issued the following statement: Our dad, Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr., lovingly known as “Sarge,” today went to heaven to join the love of his life, our mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. He was surrounded by his five children, five children in-law, and his 19 grandchildren. He was a man of giant love, energy, enthusiasm, and commitment. He lived to make the world a more joyful, faithful, and compassionate place. He centered everything on his faith and his family. He worked on stages both large and small but in the end, he will be best known for his love of others. No one ever came into his presence without feeling his passion and his enthusiasm for them. He loved God, he loved Eunice, he loved us, he loved anyone who was a servant of peace, justice or joy. He loved life. We pray that his spirit and example will guide us as we accept the challenge of living as he did. We will miss him forever. May the angels and saints and all his family receive him with a party beyond all imagining. To share a tribute online or see a documentary on Sarge’s life, entitled American Idealist, visit www.sargentshriver.org. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the Sargent Shriver Peace Institute at www.sargentshriver.org, which will also provide funeral details and other memorial information as they become available. We all know that Sarge would want us to take action to continue the work to help meet needs in the U.S. and around the world. In the coming weeks and months, let’s honor him by rededicating ourselves to that important work.