each of us , she often seemed to stop time itself -- to run another Special Olympics Games , to visit us in our homes , to attend to her own mother , her sisters and brothers , and to sail , tell stories , and laugh and serve her friends . '' No final decision has been made on funeral arrangements , a source close to the family said . Shriver 's husband , R. Sargent Shriver , and her five children and their spouses and all of her 19 grandchildren were with her when she died , the Special Olympics said in a statement . Watch a look at Eunice Kennedy Shriver 's life '' `` We are tremendously grateful for the extreme outpouring of support and prayer from the public as we honor our beloved founder , '' Brady Lum , Special Olympics president and chief operating officer , said in a statement Tuesday . `` 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
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Eunice Kennedy Shriver , the sister of President John F. Kennedy and a champion of the disabled who founded the Special Olympics , died Tuesday , the Special Olympics said . She was 88 . Eunice Kennedy Shriver speaks at a dinner in honor of the Special Olympics in July 2006 . Born on July 10 , 1921 , in Brookline , Massachusetts , Shriver was the fifth of nine children to Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy . She emerged from the long shadow of siblings John F. Kennedy , Robert F. Kennedy and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy as the founder of the Special Olympics , which started as a summer day camp in her backyard in 1962 . Today , 3.1 million people with mental disabilities participate in 228 programs in 170 nations , according to the Special Olympics . `` She was the light of our lives , a mother , wife , grandmother , sister and aunt who taught us by example and with passion what it means to live a faith-driven life of love and service to others , '' the Shriver family said Tuesday in a statement . `` For