Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of President John F. Kennedy, died this morning at the age of 88.

Shriver, who was born on July 10, 1921 in Brookline, Massachusetts, was the fifth of nine children to Joseph and Rose Kennedy.

In 1962, after going public by writing an article about her mentally disabled sister, Rosemary, she held a summer day camp in her backyard at the family compound that same year.

In 1968, Shriver launched the Special Olympics and today, 3.1 million people with mental disabilities participate in 228 programs in 170 nations.

Special Olympics President and Chief Operation Officer Brady Lum released a statement today saying: “We are tremendously grateful for the extreme outpouring of support and prayer from the public as we honor our beloved founder.  Today we celebrate the life of a woman who had the vision to create our movement.  It is an enormous loss, but I know we can rest assured that her legacy will live on through her family, friends, and the millions of people around the world who she touched and transformed.”

Shriver leaves behind her husband of 55 years, Robert Sargent Shriver Jr., and her five children daughter, California’s first lady, Maria Shriver, sons Robert Sargent Shriver III, Timothy Perry Shriver, Mark Kennedy Shriver and Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, dead at the age of 88.