Thursday, October 5, 1950

Funeral

John F. Kennedy attended the funeral and interment of his beloved maternal grandfather John (Honey) Fitzgerald in the Saint Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. The funeral at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross was attended by 3500 mourners, including representatives of the Cabot Lodge and Saltonstal families who served as pallbearers and the future speaker of the US House Tip O’Neill.

Representing the Kennedy family were Jack, Eunice, Pat, Jean, and Teddy. Joe Kennedy did not attend his father-in-law’s funeral. Rose was in Paris when her father died. The death notice published in a local paper on October 3, 1950 said that funeral arrangements were pending the arrival back in the States of Rose. However, she chose to stay in Paris instead… and continue her shopping trip.

[156, p. 478-9, Lowell Sun, October 3, 1950]