His brothers were JFK and RFK but he was always Teddy. The grandson of the Mayor of Boston who threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park, one of his last public acts was to throw out the first pitch there this spring. At his memorial on Friday at the Kennedy Library, he was remembered as a father (to the children of his fallen brothers as well as his own, when--as Joseph Kennedy, son of RFK said, "we really needed a father"), a friend, a colleague, a human being of great generosity and spirit, and one of the greatest Senators in U.S. history, who had a hand in most of the progressive laws passed in the last 46 years, including those that Americans take for granted, like Medicare, Title 9, voting age at 18, health care for children, the Voting Rights Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Disabilities Act, and so many more. His funeral will begin in a few hours, with a eulogy given by President Obama. (More on the meaning of Ted Kennedy to my generation at 60s Now.)
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