By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-22 15:36:13 | Updated at 2025-04-05 00:30:10
1 week ago
Kitty Dukakis, the wife of Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis, has died at the age of 88 from dementia complications.
Kitty died on Friday in her home in Brookline, Massachusetts, her son told The Washington Post.
The politician's wife had previously battled depression and addiction - a fight she admitted to in a memoir.
She suffered from alcoholism after her husband lost his presidential bid in 1988.
Kitty became an advocate electroconvulsive therapy for depression treatment as well.
She deserved as the First Lady of Massachusetts while her husband was governor from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991.
She worked as a modern-dance instructor, a social worker, an arts patron, as well as, an activist. She advocated for the homeless and many other vulnerable groups, The Post reported.
Kitty also helped the resettled of refugees from Vietnam, Laos, and Afghanistan in the 1970s and 1980s.
Kitty Dukakis, the wife of Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis, has died at the age of 88 from dementia complications
Kitty died on Friday in her home in Brookline, Massachusetts
The activist also participated in a humanitarian trip to the Thai-Cambodian border in 1985, where she begged the Thai colonel to let her into an off-limits refugee camp.
'I knew I wasn't going to get off my knees until he said: "Yes."' she told the Boston Globe.
After gaining access, she took an orphan back to the States to be reunited with a relative living near Boston.
She dedicated her time as Massachusetts' First Lady to humanitarian concerns and helped create the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. Kitty was Jewish.
Outside of her activism, she was known for her chain-smoking, fashion sense, and love of high-class treats, such as designer clothes and first-class travel.
This contrasted her husband, who mowed his own lawn as governor and who preferred to fly coach.
'Michael can take a peanut out of the can. I eat the whole can,' she once said.
She described herself as a 'strong' and 'assertive' woman who often pushed back against people she didn't think were taking her or her husband's causes seriously.
She described herself as a 'strong' and 'assertive' woman who often pushed back against people she didn't think were taking her or her husband's causes seriously
The politician's wife had previously battled depression and addiction - a fight she admitted to in a memoir. She also suffered from alcoholism after her husband lost his presidential bid in 1988
'Have you ever heard the words assertive or aggressive used to describe the male spouse of a candidate?' she questioned to The Los Angeles Times.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
