Massachusetts leaders remember former first lady Kitty Dukakis
Kitty Dukakis, the wife of former Massachusetts governor and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, who spoke openly about her struggles with depression and addiction, has died. She lost her battle with dementia at age 88.
Dukakis died on Friday night surrounded by her family at her Brookline home, where she lived for over 50 years. Her son, John Dukakis, shared the news on Saturday by telephone.
“We want to share that our wife and mother, Katharine (Kitty) Dickson Dukakis, died last night surrounded by her family,” John Dukakis said in a statement on Saturday.
“She was born on December 26, 1936, and lived a full life fighting to make the world a better place and sharing her vulnerabilities to help others face theirs. She was loving, feisty and fun and had a keen sensitivity to people from all walks of life. She and our dad, Michael Dukakis, shared an enviable partnership for over 60 years and loved each other deeply. Thank you to all who have touched our lives over the years or who were touched by our mother.”
On Saturday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey issued a statement remembering Kitty Dukakis.
“I’m saddened to hear about the passing of Kitty Dukakis, who was a force for good in public life and behind the scenes,” Healey said.
“She was a strong advocate for children, women and refugees, while also taking a leadership role in ensuring that the horrors of the Holocaust are never forgotten. She spoke courageously about her struggles with substance use disorder and mental health, which serves as an inspiration to us all to break down stigma and seek help. My heart is with [former] Governor Dukakis and their loved ones during this difficult time.”
Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Ed Markey issued a statement Saturday in honor Kitty Dukakis and sharing his condolences to the Dukakis family.
“I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of my dear friend Kitty Dukakis, a woman whose dedication to public service, to uplifting others, and to human rights was fueled by her indomitable spirit,” Markey said.
“Throughout her remarkable life, Kitty transformed her personal struggles into positive and persistent change - a proud legacy that continues to benefit our Commonwealth and our country. Kitty was her husband’s most trusted adviser and confidant, fighting alongside Michael to advance the causes in which they believed. Long after they left the public spotlight, Kitty and Michael continued to live purposeful lives together, dedicated to public service in all forms, and fighting for a better future for everyone.”
Phil Johnston, the former chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, released a statement Saturday, in honor of Kitty Dukakis.
“Kitty was an amazing person who consistently worked to help others who experienced personal problems,” Johnston said. “She always was interested in how she could help the people of our state and our country.”
Johnston also spoke about Kitty Dukakis to NewsCenter 5's Ted Wayman, to which he said “I think we accomplished as much or more than any other state in the country in those years when Michael was governor, and a lot of it had to with Kitty's intense commitment to homeless individuals and homeless families.”
In a statement on Saturday, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said Kitty Dukakis will be remembered as someone who “used her personal pain to help others.”
“Her legacy will live on in the policies she helped shape and the people she inspired to speak their own truths,” Campbell said.
Kitty Dukakis won high marks as a political campaigner during her husband's 1988 presidential efforts, stumping tirelessly for him. She was called a key influence in his decision to seek the presidency.
Earlier in the campaign, in 1987, Dukakis revealed she had overcome a 26-year addiction to amphetamines five years earlier after receiving treatment. She said she began taking diet pills at age 19.
Her husband made anti-drug efforts a major issue and she became prominent in the effort to educate youngsters against the perils of drug and alcohol abuse.
But a few months after Michael Dukakis lost the election to Vice President George H.W. Bush, Kitty Dukakis entered a 60-day treatment program for alcoholism. Several months later, she suffered a relapse and was hospitalized after drinking rubbing alcohol.
In her 1990 autobiography, “Now You Know,” she blamed her mother for much of her alcohol and drug addiction and a long history of low self-esteem. In 2006, she wrote another book, “Shock,” which credits the electroconvulsive therapy she began in 2001 for relieving the depression she had suffered for years. The treatment, she wrote, “opened a new reality for me.”
Kitty Dukakis and her future husband met while attending high school in Brookline, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb. He was dull and frugal; she was dramatic and fancy. He is Greek Orthodox; she was Jewish.
Dukakis, who was divorced and had a 3-year-old son, married Dukakis in 1963, and they had two children, Andrea and Kara.
Dukakis, whose late father, Harry Ellis Dickson, was associate conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, earned degrees in modern dance and broadcasting.
After the presidential election in 1989, Bush appointed her to be a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
She earlier served on the president's Commission on the Holocaust in 1979 and on the board of directors of the Refugee Policy Group. She has also been a member of the Task Force on Cambodian Children.
By the late 1990s, Dukakis and her husband divided their time between Massachusetts and California, where she was a social worker, and he was a professor for part of the year at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Susan Estrich spent a year on the campaign trail with Michael and Kitty Dukakis during their run for the White House.
Kitty Dukakis shared her struggles with addiction, alcoholism and mental health issues with Estrich, long before the rest of the world knew.
"She was gutsy, she was fun, she was a spectacular human being," Estrich said. "She wanted to own it and help other people with similar problems."
One of those individuals is Athi Tschiblu, an immigrant from the Congo who arrived in Boston in 1998.
Tschiblu met Kitty and Michael Dukakis, and the couple took him in their Brookline home as he got on his feet in a new country.
"I lived with them for one year," Tschiblu said. "[She was] the best person, best in her heart, in her mind, in everything. She would go ten miles to help anyone."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.