Jackie Dies at 64 Of

Home , Aristotle Onassis, Caroline Kennedy, Lee Radziwill, Nellie Connally

NO. 1 IN THE USA . . FIRST IN DAILY REAMIS Jackie dies at 64 of By Bruce Frankel and Sandra Sanchez USA TODAY NEW YORK — Funeral ar- rangements are expected to be announced this weekend for former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, 64. She died in her sleep late Thursday of complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. "She kind of slipped away," said spokeswoman Nancy Tuckerman, who added the funeral is expected to be private. Children Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg and John F. Ken- nedy Jr., were with her in her New York apartment. "She was able to live her life in a noble way in a rough and tumble world," said Marianne Huber, 57, among 100 people who stood outside. The widow of slain president John F. Kennedy, Onassis had charmed the nation with her generosity and gentleness: ► She "was a model of courage and dignity," President Clinton said in a statement. ► "Jackie was part of our family and part of our hearts for 40 wonderful and unforget- table years," said brother-in- law, Sen. Edward Kennedy. ► "She was an image of beauty and romance," said Lady Bird Johnson, who suc- ceeded Onassis as first lady. Her battle with cancer became public in February when she announced she had been undergoing chemotherapy. • Her condition had worsened this week and on Wednesday she discharged herself from a New York hospital. A private person, Onassis re- fused interview requests about her life and times. And tapes she made about the assassination won't be released until 50 riot. JFK told her he wanted to be years after the death of her last surviving child. president. She told friends it was an our minds on a daily basis. "outlandish ambition." Sure, we knew she was being treat- Some remember her White House ed for lymphoma, but we all know days — before the assassination - people who've survived that Not un- as all huzzahs and rose petals. It til Wednesday — when the sad, fam- wasn't She drew great criticism on ous family was shown dutifully troop- the campaign trail for her designer ing in and out of her Fifth Avenue clothes and aloof elegance. Cam- apartment — did it really sink in that paigning made her physically ill. She this was the raging and more deadly called the White House a "snake pit" type of lymphoma. Thursday, her when talking to friends. spokeswoman conceded there was She didn't like the title "first lady" "nothing they can do for her." — said it "always reminded me of a Then we knew she had gone home saddle horse." to die. But she was the most photogenic She had a public persona, and a one in memory; the great designer private one. She was loved. She was Edith Head called her impact on hated. She was the target of the most fashion "the greatest single such in- fawning of praise, the most vicious of fluence in history." gossip. People believed almost any- Everyone copied her look. When thing they heard or could hear about the new Miss America was crowned her — the wildest things. during JFK's first year, she blurted, Probably because she worked "If only I looked like Jackie." hard at "profile reduction," her huge Her White House behavior often effect on the USA's culture has was criticized at the time as style dimmed somewhat. over substance, but the images that But she was not only the "First last are lively ones. Lady of Sorrows" engraved in our Luminaries as diverse as master TV-saturated memory. She lived at cellist Pablo Casals and Hollywood the vortex of a gracious, contradic- recluse Greta Garbo were persuad- tory, tumultuous life. When she ed to attend. The country's leaders walked into a room, so did history. did the twist and the cha-cha in the Her father was Black Jack Bouvi- White House. er III, a rich stockbroker and noted When stuffy commissions and rake. Her stepfather was Virginia committees thwarted her plans to hunt-country millionaire Hugh D. historically refurbish the executive Auchincloss. She went to all the right mansion — which had become schools for rich girls — Miss Por- musty and irrelevantly furnished - ter's, Vassar, the Sorbonne. she used the power of TV to per- At 23, with a degree from George suade Congress to declare it an offi- Washington University, she found cial museum: Jackie's design and herself working as the "Inquiring taste gave it the look it has today. Camera Girl" on the old Washington Her husband shared much of his Times-Heralci. She interviewed Rich- power with her. When the Soviet ard Nixon. She also interviewed Union put missiles in Cuba and nu- John F. Kennedy — and his attrac- clear war loomed in October 1962, tion was immediate. JFK took her for a walk in the Rose She broke up with a Manhattan Garden and confided in her. The CIA stockbroker to announce their en- tried to get her to split for safety. She gagement. They married in Septem- hung in, ber 1953 to immense publicity. On the awful day in Dallas, that There were 26 groomsmen and fall of 1963, the image engraved in bridesmaids. She was 24. He was 36. history is of Jackie trying to pull a Se- The reception turned into a near- cret Service man onto the back of idential campaign. JFK stuck up for her too, even bawling out good friends like journal- ist Ben Bradlee, who had com- plained after Jackie's triumphant trip to India that she didn't visit any poor neighborhoods. "I don't get all this crap about how she should have been rubbing her nose in the grinding poverty of In- dia," Kennedy hollered at Bradlee. "When the French invite you to Par- is, they don't show you the sewers, they take you to Versailles." Indeed, when Jackie cleaned out her dead husband's desk in Novem- ber 1963, she found two newspaper clippings. One reported she had out- drawn even President Dwight Eisen- hower when traveling in India. The other quoted her as saying she was By Cecil Woughton. AP sad Jack was not there with her. TAKING OVER: With Jacqueline Kennedy by his side, Lyndon B. Johnson She leaves a huge influence on the takes the oath of office after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. way many conduct themselves in the world of politics. the limousine as her husband slumps The books and articles tumbled Neo-feminists may state other- mortally wounded. What she really forth, acid dripping. Former buddy wise, but after Jackie, it became nor- was doing was retrieving a shard of Truman Capote said her notorious mal to think of first ladies as activist. her husband's skull from the trunk shopping sprees cost $100,000 a One of her cherished goals was the top. She cradled him on the way to crack — Jackie all the while "in a creation of a Cabinet post for the the hospital. daze and hypnotized." arts. She pestered JFK about it, and "I tried to hold the top of his head Greed was ascribed to her. Her fa- he was going to sign it into existence down," she later told friends. ther-in-law was said to have paid her when he returned from Texas. The At Lyndon Johnson's plane-cabin $1 million not to divorce JFK. Onas- residue of that hope moved LBJ to swearing in, she remained composed sis was said to have paid her $3 mil- create the National Endowment for in a blood-soaked pink suit, turning lion in a pre-nuptial agreement. She the Arts and the National Endow- away sedatives and resisting all sug- received millions at his death. ment for the Humanities. gestions she change clothes. The history that slipped out about "Let them see what they've done her part of the relationship with Jack Yes, there is some irony. She and to Jack," she told the Secret Service. Kennedy seemed to support the pop- Richard Nixon, who died within Her public dignity and reserve im- ular view that — pain or no — she weeks of each other, spent most of pressed the nation as noble during truly loved him. their last days in the same hospital. three days of sorrow. In 1974, she told their buddy Not many know that after her hus- Before she departed the White Frank Sinatra "I wish it were all band's murder, Jackie graciously House, she oversaw the answering of starting again." wrote Nixon, past Kennedy foe and 800,000 sympathy letters. To friends, when JFK lived, she future president: "So now he is a legend when he constantly compared him to Shake- "You two young men, colleagues would have preferred to be a man," speare's most romantic king, Henry in Congress, adversaries in 1960 - she wrote at the time. V. The two often spent two hours and now look what happened. Who- But the worship ended live years around noon in complete privacy in ever thought such a hideous thing later when she shocked the country the White House living quarters. could happen in this country? I know by marrying Aristotle Onassis, the They had big plans. JFK surprised how you must feet, so closely missing unbelievably rich Greek shipping friends by telling them that after his the greatest prize ... and now you magnate. We wanted eternal mourn- second term, he'd like to be named must commit all your and your fam- ing. She wanted a new life. ambassador to Italy because "Jackie ily's hopes and efforts again. Just one The USA responded with vitriol. would like it." thing I would say to you. If it does not How could she marry a man who Just before he was murdered, they work out as you have hoped for so had solid gold faucets, 42 telephones had mapped out a mountain vaca- long, please be consoled by what you on his yacht, and barstools reported- tion in Montana for the summer of have — your life and your family. ly covered with whale scrotum? 1964 to get ready for that year's pres- We never value life enough." 2A • FRIDAY, MAY 20, 1994 USA TODAY

JACQUELINE KENNEDY Nation mourns a

F ONASSIS 1 929-1 994 woman of courage

`Shaped dreams profoundly'

By Gary Fields and Christine Sparta USA TODAY

NEW YORK — The grace- fulness that was Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' life brought mourners out across the nation to grieve and reminisce as news of her death spread. In Washington. President Clinton noted the first lady brought dignity and grace to a mourning nation after Presi- dent John F. Kennedy was as- sassinated. "Even in the face of impossi- ble tragedy, she carried the By Timothy Clary, Agence France-Presse grief of her family and our en- GETTING AWAY: John F Kennedy Jr. is escorted to a limousine by a New York police officer tire nation with a calm power Thursday after visiting his mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. at her Fifth Avenue apartment. that somehow reassured all of us who mourned," Clinton said. "We hope that Mrs. Onassis' children, John and Carolyn. and grandchildren 5nd solace in the extraordinary contribu- tions she made to our country." Outside Onassis' Fifth Ave- nue apartment, mourners came in small groups, stayed briefly in the cold, drizzling rain and left quietly. "I just feel bad for the children. Now they have lost their mother. They lost their father a long time ago," said a tearful Susan Cunningham, 36, of Pitts- burgh, who came with her sister and left a rose outside. Jackie Hayman, 52, a fashion designer, called Onassis a By Peter Morgan, Reuters "very great person. She set a MEDIA CRUSH: Journalists and passers-by gather outside Jac- standard for Americans for queline Kennedy Onassis. home, where she died Thursday. class and style." Nicholas Apps, 29, who wait- and an hour of its greatest trag- Other callers included Rob- ed on her as a caterer said, edy," said Nellie Connally, wid- ert F. Kennedy's widow, Ethel, "She was always very nice to ow of the former governor who and Sargent Shriver. me. She was always a mysteri- was wounded in Dallas when Singer Carly Simon — a ous woman." Kennedy was killed. "She will neighbor from Martha's Vine- "Few women throughout his- be missed." yard, where Onassis has a tory have touched the hearts Family members visited home — visited in the early af- and shaped the dreams of Onassis throughout the day ternoon and said Onassis was Americans more profoundly," Thursday — including chil- conscious. "I love her very former president Ronald Rea- dren John F. Kennedy Jr. and much," she said, in tears. gan said in a statement, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg Sisters-in-law Eunice Shriver Lady Bird Johnson. who suc- and Onassis' longtime compan- and Pat Law-ford were jostled ceeded Onassis as first lady, ion Maurice Tempelsman. by the-Th-e-dra-.- A stone-faced said her predecessor's dignity Onassis' parish priest, Monsi- JFK Jr. left the building with helped hold a grief-stricken na- gnor George Bardes of St. Caroline and her husband. Ed- tion together. Thomas More Roman Catholic win Schlossberg, at 2:30 p.m., "In times of hope, she cap- Church, visited in the after- prompting a media stampede. tured our hearts. In tragedy, noon, heard her confession, Maria Shriver came at 4 p.m. her courage helped salve a na- gave her communion and ad- and stayed 40 minutes. tion's grief," Mrs. Johnson said. ministered the sacrament of On the pavement were on- "I always thought of her as my the sick. Formerly known as lookers like Tom Sernbros, 25, friend." last rites, the sacrament of the a registrar for the National "Jackie Onassis brought sick is available to any serious- Academy of Design in New great dignity and grace to the ly ill member of the Roman York who was making his way White House and was, indeed, Catholic Church. to the nearby Metropolitan Mu- a charming and wonderful first At 9:30 p.m. Onassis' sister, seum of Art. lady," said former president Lee Radziwill. left the apart- He stood outside in the rain George Bush. ment in tears after a 45-minute for about an hour. "1 think it's "She was an important part evening visit, accompanied by an historic moment, kind of an of both a time of great hope Onassis' half-brother, James end of an era," he said. and exhilaration for our nation Lee Auchincloss. Contributing: Bruce Frankel Lymphoma's progression was swift By Tim Friend and Sandra Sanchez USA TODAY The cancer that killed Jac- queline Kennedy Onassis late Thursday progressed quickly. Since announcing in Febru- ary that she suffered from non- Hodgkin's lymphoma, Onassis had undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatment. The New York Times reported today that Onassis had slipped into a coma Thursday, and the cancer had spread to her liver and brain. What began with flu-like symptoms seemed to spread swiftly;. but that is not uncom- mon for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, one of the fastest-rising cancers in the USA. This year, about 45,000 new cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma will be diagnosed, and 21,200 people will die. The cancer attacks the lymph system, which process- es white blood cells, which in turn bolster the immune system. Tumors can arise any- where in the body where there are lymph .odes and lymphat- ic channels, including the stom- ach. causing ulcers, and the lungs or chest cavity, making breathing difficult. Survival rates depend on how advanced the cancer is and whether it is slow-growing or aggressive. The non-Hodgkin's part of the name refers to Hodgkin's disease, a more specific type of lymph system cancer. Style, strength inspired many By Andrea Stone USA TODAY Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis often dabbled in painting, but for a genera- tion of women that hung on her glamour and grief, she was the canvas upon which they painted their evolving AP dreams and desires. N FEBRUARY 1962: Mrs. John F. Kennedy takes a tour of Whatever women wanted, the White House in front of the television cameras . Jackie had it. Style, fame, money. Such things to her she returned to New York, to came easily. Yet, it wasn't take a job as a book editor. the jetsetter that fascinated "She ended up being a ca- women. It was how she tran- reer woman, which most scended all that, and incredi- people probably would not ble tragedy, to be what even have anticipated," says Tate, those of the most modest sta- press secretary for Nancy tion could aspire to: Reagan. Perfect wife. Good moth- "She evolved," says au- er. Independent woman of thor Kelley. "She started out her own making and means: wanting to be terribly chic, ► "Unlike a lot of icons, terribly glamorous, the best she hasn't simply existed in dressed. ... but in her own the same way. She's been quiet way she became a many women," says Kate AP working woman." White, editor-in-chief of SAY CHEESE: Jacqueline "Maybe she wasn't a clas- McCall's magazine. "That's Bouvier worked as a news- sic feminist," says White, something women today, paper photographer in 1953. "but her strength was very her age or younger, really inspiring." relate to." Yet, when we next saw Not that she bragged ► "She was always a wom- her in her black widow's about it. After the White an of her time," says author weeds, we saw in her grief House, Jackie became Gar- Sally Quinn. the dignity we would hope to hoesque in the way she ► "She was young and ac- show were we in her unenvi- shunned the media. complished and vivacious able place. It was in her very private and a real role model for ev- Behind her somber veil at world that she developed erybody," says Sheila Tate, the funeral, Quinn says, "She perhaps her most enviable then a college student. "I re- was majestic and tasteful legacy: her children. John member every woman in and had enormous dignity. Jr. and Caroline Kennedy America wore pillbox hats." She really graced the nation Schlossberg are widely con- Her appeal was more in- with the way she handled sidered the best-adjusted of tangible than looks, though. herself." the Kennedy cousins. "It was that meeting of Women "love that survi- "By protecting them. by age and elegance and fresh- vor aspect of her. She really not getting swept away by ness that made Jackie 0 so triumphed. She showed she media coverage, by insisting important," says Patrick Mc- wasn't going to be a victim," on her values, she was there Carthy, editor of Women's says White. "For someone for them," says Kelley. "She Wear Daily. who had this delicate perso- set an example as a good The world loved her. A na, she (was) very gutsy." mother." Polish magazine, of all It took guts to marry a di- Says White: "She decided things, declared she set the vorced Greek billionaire in a very active way that tone for the 1960s. When she and spirit herself and her (her) kids weren't going to and President Kennedy visit- children into self-imposed be negatively affected by the ed France, he introduced exile on a private island. legacy of being a Kennedy." himself as "the man who ac- "She was famous because And what of her own, per- companied Jacqueline Ken- of who she married, yes. No sonal. legacy? nedy to Paris." question about it," says Kitty Once asked what she was But soon the era even she Kelley, author of Jackie Oh! most proud of, Jackie gave dubbed Camelot was over. "But she was a person in her this understated reply: Jackie became a widow. own right" "Well, I went through her chic pink suit splattered That became clear after some pretty difficult times, with her husband's blood. Aristotle Onassis died and and I kept my sanity."