Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald

Mary Josephine "Josie" Hannon (October 31, 1865 – August 8, 1964) was the wife of John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, the mother of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, mother-in-law of Joseph P. Kennedy and maternal grandmother of John F., Robert F. and Edward M. Kennedy. She is, as of 2011, the only grandparent to live to see a grandchild become president of the United States, as well as being the only grandparent of a president to outlive the grandchild (due to assassination, illness, etc.).

Mary Josephine Hannon was born on October 31, 1865 in Acton, Massachusetts to Irish immigrants Michael Hannon (1832–1900) and Mary Ann Fitzgerald (1834–1904), both from County Limerick. She was the sixth of nine children, only four of whom survived. One brother, Edmund (1859–1865), died of fever at the age of six, while Josie's mother was pregnant with her; another, John (1855–1861), had died of a lung inflammation four years earlier. Two brothers, Michael (1860–1881) and James (1863–1889), died early of alcoholism, while her youngest brother, John Edmund (1877–1951), had his leg crushed by a train at age thirteen. The youngest girl, Lizzie (1869–1873), drowned with her best friend while Josie was supposed to be caring for them, an event that would mark her and her two surviving sisters, Ellen Augusta (1857–1928) and Emily (1867–1931), for the rest of their lives.^[1]

On September 18, 1889, she married John Fitzgerald, her second cousin.^[2]

Mary Josephine Fitzgerald died on August 8, 1964, at the age of 98 years and 9 months. Her death came less than a year after the assassination of her grandson, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Family members claimed she was never told of his death.

Children

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald	July 22, 1890	January 22, 1995	Married on October 7, 1914 to Joseph P. Kennedy; had issue.
Mary Agnes Fitzgerald	November 1, 1892	September 17, 1936	Married on April 29, 1929 to Joseph F. Gargan; had issue.
Thomas Acton Fitzgerald	April 19, 1895	September 1968	Married on September 7, 1921 to Marion D. Reardon (died February 7, 1925). Married again on October 11, 1930 to Margaret B. Fitzpatrick.
John Francis Fitzgerald, Jr.	December 7, 1897	April 1979	Married on April 28, 1928 to Catherine O'Hearn.
Eunice Fitzgerald	January 26, 1900	September 25, 1923
Frederick Hannon Fitzgerald	December 3, 1904	February 1935	Married on October 26, 1929 to Rosalind Miller.

References

1. ^ McGoldrick, Monica (1995). You Can Go Home Again: Reconnecting with Your Family. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 155. ISBN 0393316505. 
2. ^ Goodwin, Doris Kearns (2001). The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga. Simon and Schuster. pp. 88–89. 

External links

• Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Fitzgerald, Mary Josephine Hannon
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 31, 1865
Place of birth
Date of death	August 8, 1964
Place of death