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.
| 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. |