Ethel Kennedy Is Eulogized by 3 Presidents, Celebrities and Grandchildren

The memorial service in Washington drew major names from the Democratic Party and celebrities, including Sting and Stevie Wonder.

Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and matriarch of a political dynasty, was remembered on Wednesday by three presidents, star musicians and many, many relatives during a memorial service in Washington.

President Biden eulogized Mrs. Kennedy, who died last Thursday at 96, as “a hero in her own right, full of character, full of integrity and empathy, genuine empathy.” Growing emotional, Mr. Biden credited her for encouraging him to stay in the Senate after a car accident killed his first wife and infant daughter in 1972.

“Ethel Kennedy would hear none of it,” Mr. Biden said in the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. “Fact is, like she did for the country, Ethel helped my family find a way forward.”

It was the second service this week for Mrs. Kennedy, who died from complications of a stroke. Her stature in American politics was recognized by big names in the Democratic Party: Mr. Biden and two former presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, gave speeches. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi honored Mrs. Kennedy “from an official standpoint and from a girlfriend standpoint.” Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of the civil rights leader, compared Mrs. Kennedy to his mother, saying she built “beautiful bridges of greater understanding.”

Several of Mrs. Kennedy’s 34 grandchildren told stories of her tenacity in tackle football and her love of sailing. Sting and Stevie Wonder performed, with the latter replacing the chorus of the hit song “Isn’t She Lovely” with “Ethel is lovely.”

Mrs. Kennedy, born in Chicago in 1928, married Mr. Kennedy in 1950, and they had 11 children. She was known for her passion in politics and was often said to be “more Kennedy than the Kennedys.” After her husband’s assassination in 1968, Mrs. Kennedy dedicated her life to her family and advocacy while hosting politicians at her estate in Virginia, known as Hickory Hill.

“It was a lesson of how to survive, how to summon the courage to overcome your fear for the sake of someone else, for the sake of a greater cause, and to do it with a loving heart,” said Kerry Kennedy, the seventh child of Mrs. Kennedy.

The memorial brought together a family that has been thrust into the election-year news cycle. Kerry Kennedy led a group of her relatives in endorsing Mr. Biden earlier this year and has pushed back against her brother, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ended his presidential campaign in August and endorsed former President Donald J. Trump. (The younger Mr. Kennedy attended the service, but did not give a speech.)

Many of the speakers spoke of Mrs. Kennedy’s humor and mischief.

Mr. Biden said that he once received a Valentine’s Day card from Mrs. Kennedy with a picture of them both surrounded by hearts. “I’m not Biden my time waiting for you, Valentine,” Mrs. Kennedy wrote on the letter, Mr. Biden said.

Mr. Clinton began by saying he feared he did not have much to add to the procession, before telling the Kennedys: “I thought your mother was the cat’s meow.”

“She would flirt with me in the most innocent ways,” Mr. Clinton said.

Mr. Obama recalled the story of Mrs. Kennedy pushing Arthur Schlesinger Jr., the influential historian, “and several cabinet members” into a pool fully clothed.

“And, of course, the rotating cast of the family pets, dogs, horses, chickens, cats, goats, turtles, reputedly a hawk, an armadillo and a seal,” Mr. Obama said. “Not sure where they kept the seal.”

Mr. Obama recalled meeting Mrs. Kennedy, a “small woman with this huge smile and these twinkling eyes,” for the first time after he spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 in Boston.

When Mr. Obama tried to express formalities, he said Mrs. Kennedy cut him off.

“Oh, stop it,” Mr. Obama recalled her saying. “You know you’re going places. Just make sure you enjoy the ride.”

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