Kitty Dukakis, 88, the wife of former Massachusetts Governor and Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis, has passed away. She was known for her candid discussions about her battles with depression and addiction.
John Dukakis, her son, confirmed her death on Saturday, stating she died Friday night surrounded by family. The family released a statement praising her efforts to improve the world by “sharing her vulnerabilities to help others face theirs.”
Her family described her as “loving, feisty and fun,” highlighting her empathy for people from all backgrounds. They also noted her “enviable partnership” and deep love with Michael Dukakis that lasted over 60 years.
During her husband’s 1988 presidential bid, Dukakis was a highly regarded campaigner, tirelessly advocating for him. She was seen as a significant influence in his decision to run for president.
She was even the subject of the opening question in a 1988 presidential debate, where her husband was asked about his stance on the death penalty if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered. His negative response, deemed unemotional, drew criticism.
Earlier in the campaign, in 1987, Dukakis revealed that she had overcome a 26-year amphetamine addiction five years prior, following treatment. She stated she began taking diet pills at 19.
Her husband focused on anti-drug efforts as a key issue, and she played a prominent role in educating young people about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.
However, after Michael Dukakis lost the election to George H.W. Bush, Kitty Dukakis entered a 60-day treatment program for alcoholism. She later relapsed and was hospitalized after consuming rubbing alcohol.
In her 1990 autobiography, “Now You Know,” she attributed her alcohol and drug addiction and low self-esteem to her mother. In 2006, she released “Shock,” a book crediting electroconvulsive therapy, which she began in 2001, for alleviating her long-term depression. She wrote that the treatment “opened a new reality for me.”
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey lauded Dukakis as “a force for good in public life and behind the scenes,” a leader in Holocaust remembrance efforts, and a champion for children, women, and refugees.
Healey stated that Dukakis’s courageous discussion of her struggles with substance use disorder and mental health “serves as an inspiration to us all to break down stigma and seek help.”
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell stated on social media that Dukakis used her personal pain to support others.
Campbell added, “Her legacy will live on in the policies she helped shape and the people she inspired to speak their own truths.”
Maria Ivanova, director of Northeastern University’s Policy School, which houses the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy, said Dukakis broke ground by openly discussing her challenges and advocating for the homeless and political refugees.
Ivanova stated, “Kitty Dukakis brought honesty, compassion, and strength to public life. Her legacy is one of service, resilience, and truth-telling.”
Dukakis and her future husband first met in high school in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. He was considered reserved and frugal, while she was seen as dramatic and stylish. He was Greek Orthodox, and she was Jewish.
Dukakis, who was divorced with a 3-year-old son, married Dukakis in 1963. They had two children, Andrea and Kara.
Dukakis’s late father, Harry Ellis Dickson, was the associate conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She earned degrees in modern dance and broadcasting.
Following the 1989 presidential election, President Bush appointed her to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
She had previously served on the President’s Commission on the Holocaust in 1979 and on the board of directors of the Refugee Policy Group. She was also a member of the Task Force on Cambodian Children.
By the late 1990s, Dukakis and her husband split their time between Massachusetts and California, where she worked as a social worker and he taught at the University of California, Los Angeles for part of the year.
—Former Associated Press writer Lisa Flam contributed to this report.
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