During the Democratic Convention in 1988, John F. Kennedy Jr. spoke and was later joined by his uncle, Ted
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July 22, 1999
Web posted at: 12:51 a.m. EDT (0451 GMT)

In this story: A lifetime of loss 'One of the giants' RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Hailed as America's royal family, the Kennedy saga of triumph and tragedy has been played out on the national and international stage, with Sen. Ted Kennedy thrust -- often reluctantly -- into a leading role.

Edward Moore Kennedy, the youngest of nine children of Rose Fitzgerald and Joseph P. Kennedy, at age 67 has again assumed the mantle of Kennedy patriarch during another time of personal grief and national despair.

Legions of Kennedy-watchers cannot help but reflect upon the milestones of misery which have marked the often controversial life of the senior senator from Massachusetts.

Elected to the Senate on November 6, 1962, to fill the unexpired term of his brother, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Ted would stand beside older brother Robert just one year later, following JFK's assassination in Dallas.

It was Robert who eulogized the president on that cold November day in 1963, but when Robert Kennedy was gunned down in Los Angeles in June of 1968, during his own quest for the White House, it was Ted Kennedy who memorialized his brother.

These were not the first losses the Kennedys had suffered.

Ted Kennedy's oldest brother, Joe Jr., perished aboard a military aircraft during a secret World War II mission. A sister also died in a plane crash, while another was institutionalized because of mental retardation.

Ted Kennedy became a surrogate dad to his many fatherless nieces and nephews, sharing their triumphs and easing their pain.

One died of a drug overdose; another perished on the ski slopes. One was tried and acquitted of sexual assault.

When Kathleen Kennedy Townsend was married, Uncle Ted gave her away in the morning, then spent the afternoon in the hospital with his young son who had his cancerous leg removed.

And in recent days, it was Ted who left Hyannisport to be with Caroline, mourning the loss of her brother.

And it was Ted who went Wednesday with his two sons to the spot in the sea where he lost another piece of his heart.

Kennedy in 1968 after the assassination of his brother Robert

A champion of liberal causes, including civil rights, health care and minimum wage legislation, Ted Kennedy's personal life at times has been overshadowed by personal tragedy.

In July 1969, Kennedy was at the wheel when his car plunged off a bridge at Chappaquiddick, drowning his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, a young campaign worker. This ended his own presidential aspirations, preferring to press his agenda in the U.S. Senate.

"I think Sen. Kennedy will go down as one of the giants in the Senate," says Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution. "While he has had a rather tumultous public life with lots of ups and downs, his record in the Senate has been consistently impressive."

The life of Ted Kennedy is an almost impossible kaleidiscope of outstanding public service and astounding personal failure. A life of privilege and pain; he has enjoyed and suffered them both.

Correspondent Candy Crowley contributed to this report.

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