Reply #57: I wasn't alive, but I've heard the family stories. [View All]

[Drunken Irishman]

My mom was a student at the Kearns-Saint Ann Catholic School here in Salt Lake when it happened. She remembers being in class and then the National Anthem began playing over the loudspeaker. At first she thought they were going to announce we were going to war, but instead, said that Kennedy had died. Since this was a Catholic school, and Kennedy was the first Catholic president, it was extremely tough, especially for the nuns. My mom remembers the nuns crying and shrieks when it was announced. Then they let them leave early and my mom returned home, where my grandma was there watching television.

The family loved Kennedy, but grandma was a strong woman and rarely cried. I don't know if she cried over this or not, but I remember her telling me she was vacuuming the living room carpet when she saw Oswald's shooting. Stunned her.

A few years later, my mom, older and in high school I think, was sitting in the kitchen watching the late returns for the California Primary when they broke in and said Robert had been shot. I think she then went and woke everyone up in the house, who all had been sleeping at that time.

:(