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Ethel Skakel Kennedy11.4.1928
Early life
Ethel Skakel was born in Chicago, in 1928, to Ann Brannack, a Roman Catholic of Irish descent, and George Skakel, a Protestant of remote Dutch descent. Ethel was raised as a Catholic in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her father was the founder of Great Lakes Carbon Corporation, now a division of SGLCarbon. She attended the all-girls Greenwich Academy in Greenwich, as well as the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Manhattan. In September 1945, Ethel began her college education at Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart (then located in Manhattan), where she became roommates with Jean Kennedy. Skakel later married Kennedy's brother, Robert F. Kennedy.
Kennedy family and marriage
Ethel met Robert F. Kennedy during a ski trip to Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec during the winter of 1945. At the time, Robert was dating Ethel's sister, Patricia. That relationship ended and Ethel and Robert started seeing each other. Ethel campaigned for his brother, John F. Kennedy, in his 1946 campaign for United States Congress, and wrote her college thesis on his book Why England Slept.
Bobby and Ethel became engaged in February 1950, and were married on June 17, 1950, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenwich. Ethel's wedding dress and bridal party gowns were created by noted New York City fashion designer Mamie Conti. As newlyweds, Ethel and Bobby moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, where they lived while Bobby finished his last year at the University of Virginia Law School. Their first child, Kathleen, was born on July 4, 1951. After Bobby graduated with his law degree, the family settled in the Washington, D.C., area and Bobby went to work for the Department of Justice. That path did not last long, as Bobby was asked by his family to manage John F. Kennedy's successful 1952 Senate campaign in Massachusetts.
Throughout the 1950s, Robert Kennedy worked for the federal government in investigatory roles for the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations with anti-Communist Senator Joe McCarthy, and as chief counsel for the Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management. In 1956, the Kennedys purchased Hickory Hill from Bobby's brother John and his wife, Jackie. They needed a larger house, since Ethel was pregnant with their fifth child. This enormous 13-bedroom, 13-bath home was situated on 6 acres (24,000 m2) in McLean, Virginia.
In contrast to John and Jackie Kennedy, Robert and Ethel held many get-togethers at their home. Whether it was a pool party or a formal dinner party, the guest list was impressive and eclectic. Journalist Roger Mudd recalled meeting John Lennon at one such party. Other notable invitees included the Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, entertainer Judy Garland, dancer Rudolf Nureyev and historian Arthur Schlesinger, who found himself thrown into the pool fully clothed where Ethel was also already swimming fully clothed.
The Kennedy children added to the wild atmosphere at Hickory Hill. Notoriously, Robert Jr. maintained a zoo in the basement which included reptiles, a seal, an anteater, miniature ponies, and even an elephant. Jackie found the children so wild that she did not allow Caroline and John Jr. to play with their cousins.
