Kara Kennedy, the daughter of Ted Kennedy has passed away at the age of 51. Just a few years after her father died of a brain tumor at the age of 77.
Kennedy reportedly died after a workout in a Washington D.C. gym when her heart gave out.
According to the New York Post: “Allen had gone swimming late Friday afternoon at the Tenley Sport & Health Club, about a mile from her DC home, Boston newspapers reported. She was found unresponsive in the gym’s steam room shortly after her swim by another member. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.”
Her death follows lung cancer treatment of chemotherapy and radiation. Kara was diagnosed with lunch cancer in 2002 and had an operation a year later that was deemed successful.
Kennedy’s mother, Joan, reportedly said the death came as a shock and that she was full recovered from cancer and very healthy. According to ABC, only five years after Kara’s diagnosis, her mother told the Boston Globe Kara Kennedy was cancer free and running five miles a day.
In August 2009 Kara Kennedy accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, on behalf of her father during a White House ceremony.
Kara leaves behind two teenagers, Grace and Max.
With Associated Press
