“She really believed she could make a difference,” says Potoski, who’s written a book with her son, Our Mary Jo, about her life. John Farrar, the fire rescue captain who retrieved the body on July 19, testified he believed that Kopechne stayed alive for up to half an hour in an air pocket, and ultimately suffocated in the submerged vehicle. [17] She has been described as hero-worshiping the senator.

[3][6][4] Kopechne was of part Polish heritage. [11] After graduation, Kopechne moved to Montgomery, Alabama, for a year at the Mission of St. Jude,[3] an activity that was part of the Civil Rights Movement. Her parents were terribly hurt … For more on Mary Jo Kopechne’s life and tragic death, pick up the newest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, “She was so much more than a secretary,” says Potoski, who is two years younger than Mary Jo and always thought of her as a sister. "[28], Kopechne's parents received a $141,000 settlement from Kennedy's insurance company. Mary Jo, who worked for RFK for four years, was in Chappaquiddick, off Martha’s Vineyard, that weekend for a reunion party for her fellow campaign workers — known as the “Boiler Room Girls,” and nicknamed for the campaign office in which they worked. [9][14][15] She was also an enthusiastic participant on the Kennedy office softball team, playing catcher. [7][9][14][17] They were vital in tracking and compiling data and intelligence on how Democratic delegates from various states were intending to vote; Kopechne's responsibilities included Pennsylvania. She adds that Mary Jo “wasn’t particularly fond” of Ted Kennedy.

A private funeral for Kopechne was held at St. Vincent's Roman Catholic Church in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, on July 22, 1969.

Nothing says a family vacation like an RV, Princess Diana died when Harry was just 12 years old, It's looked — and felt — like a whole different world as we've been social distancing and attempting to keep each other safe, Too Faced Co-Founders Celebrate 25 Years of Marriage! ANL/REX/Shutterstock, Mary Jo Kopechne with her parents, Gwen and Joe in their 1946 Christmas Card, | Yahoo fait partie de Verizon Media. “He was a young man finding his way around Washington, but he didn’t have the same focus that his brothers had — at least not yet. Découvrez comment nous utilisons vos informations dans notre Politique relative à la vie privée et notre Politique relative aux cookies. | [26] Massachusetts officials pressed for weeks to have Kopechne's body exhumed for an autopsy,[27] but in December 1969 a Pennsylvania judge sided with the parents' request not to disturb her burial site. Nonetheless, Kennedy overcame this and some lesser personal scandals to have a very long career as a Senator with a lengthy list of major legislative accomplishments. On July 18, 1969, Kopechne attended a party on Chappaquiddick Island, off the east coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

[14] The vehicle landed on its roof in Poucha Pond. ... She was humble and kind and stood firm in her beliefs. [9] During his campaign, she worked as one of the Boiler Room Girls; this was an affectionate nickname given to six young women whose office area was in a hot, loud, windowless location in Kennedy's Washington campaign headquarters. [32] Because Kopechne had been a great believer in education as well as her Catholic faith, the family members started a scholarship fund in Kopechne's name at nearby Misericordia University. I can't go back because it will never be the same again. [10] They learned Kennedy had been the driver from wire press releases some time later. [16] Kopechne reportedly left the party with Kennedy at 11:15 p.m.; according to his account, he had offered to drive her to catch the last ferry back to Edgartown, where she was staying. The New York Post writes: Teddy Kennedy quashed a National Enquirer story alleging Mary Jo Kopechne was pregnant with his child when she died by … Get push notifications with news, features and more. Mary Jo Kopechne (/koʊˈpɛkni/; July 26, 1940 – July 18 or 19, 1969) was an American secretary, one of the campaign workers for Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign, a close team known as the Boiler Room Girls. Image zoom Mary Jo Kopechne died in July 1969, when his drove car off bridge on Chappaquiddick Island and left her in the car to drown. [11] Kashatus has said that he spent over a decade researching the work, inspired by Kopechne as an exemplar of the culture of the Wyoming Valley area, "where the people have a strong work ethic, very strongly Catholic at that period of time, and they raised their kids to respect themselves, respect other people and work hard.

[12][20] In the fall elections of 1968, Kopechne did work on the eventually losing re-election campaign of Senator Joseph S. Clark Jr. in Pennsylvania[18] and was assigned to recruit volunteers in Colorado for former Governor Stephen McNichols's run for the Senate against the incumbent Senator Peter H. [18], Kopechne lived with three other women in the Washington neighborhood of Georgetown. [28] [4] Her mother died in a nursing home in Plains Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in 2007. [5], Kopechne's father died in a nursing home in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, in 2003. Informations sur votre appareil et sur votre connexion Internet, y compris votre adresse IP, Navigation et recherche lors de l’utilisation des sites Web et applications Verizon Media. She had confidence and a zest for life that was intriguing. Mary Jo Kopechne's aunt tells PEOPLE her niece "wasn't particularly fond" of Ted Kennedy — and he was nicknamed "office boy". [3][10], Kopechne was inspired by John F. Kennedy's inaugural command "Ask what you can do for your country". “If you knew a dirty joke, you didn’t tell it to Mary Jo.”, RELATED VIDEO: Jackie Kennedy Ironically Got Help From Marilyn Monroe’s Therapist During Her Darkest Days. [28] Even among otherwise sympathetic, mainstream biographers, serious questions remained about Kennedy's timeline of events that night, specifically his actions following the incident. Ted Kennedy hid an incredible secret about the night he drove Mary Jo Kopechne off a bridge in Chappaquiddick — the campaign staffer was pregnant with Massachusetts senator’s child!

[3] For that office she worked as a secretary to the senator's speechwriters and as a legal secretary to one of his legal advisers.

[1], The Chappaquiddick incident and Kopechne's death became the topic of at least 15 books, as well as a fictionalized treatment by Joyce Carol Oates. [4] They subsequently moved to Swiftwater, Pennsylvania. Chappaquiddick, a new movie opening April 6 that explores the events of that night and the week that followed — when Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident — has once again brought questions about what happened that evening to the forefront. [14] Kennedy drove the 1967 Oldsmobile Delmont 88[23] off a narrow, unlit bridge, which lacked guardrails and was not on the route to Edgartown. “For 49 years people have wanted to know what happened,” Mary Jo’s aunt Georgetta Potoski, 75, says in an exclusive interview in this week’s PEOPLE.

It seemed cosmically unfair that he should have a second act when she couldn't even complete her first. But years earlier, Kopechne was tied Bobby Kennedy. Kopechne was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania,[3] although she is sometimes described as being from nearby Forty Fort, Pennsylvania. [3] She was a fan of the Boston Red Sox and of fellow Polish-American Carl Yastrzemski. [19] McNichols lost his run, and Kopechne went back to Washington, D.C. By mid-1969 she had completed work for the eventually successful mayoral campaign of Thomas J. Whelan in Jersey City, New Jersey. [22] Robert's brother, Senator Ted Kennedy was there; Kopechne did not know him well. [4][5] She was the only child of Joseph Kopechne, an insurance salesman, and Gwen (née Jennings), a homemaker. “There is no doubt she would have done great things in her life.”, Meanwhile, Potoski’s son adds that “We’re happy more information is coming out — that’s the path to the truth.”. [14] Kopechne's parents said that they learned of their daughter's death from Kennedy,[3] before he informed authorities of his involvement.

... Tough but fun in the classroom, creating speed challenges, expecting accuracy, and rewarding generously. She was thinking of getting engaged, but no one came out to defend her, and her parents were broken — and they just retreated.”. [5], When Kopechne was an infant, the family moved to Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. Introducing ... PEOPLE's Products Worth the Hype, Mary Jo Kopechne, the 28-year-old campaign worker for Robert F. Kennedy who tragically died, launched a scholarship in her name at Misericordia College. [7] They talked daily with field managers and also helped distribute policy statements to strategic newspapers. “Maybe now Mary Jo will be brought to the forefront and remembered not just for how she died but for who she was.”, Potoski and her son, William Nelson, 46, hope the film will convey something about the real Mary Jo, who was reduced at the time to what William calls “the quote-unquote ‘Girl in the Car.’ ”.

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