Sargent Shriver, a former VP candidate, dies at age 95

Former Democratic vice presidential nominee Sargent Shriver died Tuesday at the age of 95.

Shriver, who formerly directed the Peace Corps, was admitted to Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Md., on Monday morning and was reported to be in critical condition. 

Shriver announced eight years ago that he had been diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s disease.

The Kennedy relative served as the inaugural director of the Peace Corps under his brother-in-law, President John F. Kennedy, and also was ambassador to France.

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He served as the vice presidential nominee to George McGovern in 1972, but the ticket was defeated by Republican President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew.

President Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 1994.

President Obama said in a statement that “Sarge came to embody the idea of public service.”

“His loss will be felt in all of the communities around the world that have been touched by Peace Corps volunteers over the past half-century and all of the lives that have been made better by his efforts to address inequality and injustice here at home,” he said.

Shriver’s family released a statement that said Sargent had lived to “make the world a more joyful, faithful and compassionate place.”

In 2009, he suffered the loss of his wife, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of the Special Olympics, and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), also his brother-in-law. 

Shriver is the father of Maria Shriver, the wife of former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R).

— This post was updated at 5:51 p.m.