UPDATED: 8:05 AM Tuesday: Eunice Kennedy Shriver has died at the age of 88.

Shriver died at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis. A statement from her family reads:

"She was the light of our lives, a mother, wife, grandmother, sister and aunt who taught us by example and with passion what it means to live a faith-driven life of love and service to others. For each of us, she often seemed to stop time itself — to run another Special Olympics games, to visit us in our homes, to attend to her own mother, her sisters and brothers, and to sail, tell stories and laugh and serve her friends. How did she do it all? … She set out to change the world and to change us, and she did that and more. She founded the movement that became Special Olympics, the largest movement for acceptance and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities in the history of the world. Her work transformed the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the globe, and they in turn are her living legacy." 

Before news of her death, Special Olympians around the country sent well wishes to the Kennedy clan member who founded the Special Olympics and who was in critical condition.

Shriver — mom of California First Lady Maria Shriver — had suffered multiple strokes. Members of the Kennedy and Shriver clan gathered around her bedside over the weekend and were seen around the family home in Hyannis Port, leading many to wonder just how bad Mrs. Shriver’s condition was. 

"Everyone is gathered around her, in typical Kennedy fashion," Deborah Converse, CEO of the Hyannis Area Chamber of Commerce, told The Boston Globe, noting she recently saw Maria Shriver’s husband, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, at her local gym. "I know people feel for the family."

Shriver was one of three surviving Kennedy siblings and was married to Robert Sargent Shriver, founder of the Peace Corps and a one-time vice-presidential candidate. She founded the Special Olympics in 1968 as a way of honoring her sister, Rosemary, who was mentally disabled. Now, the organization has more than three million athletes in 150 countries.

"She is a visionary," said Bob Johnson, CEO of Special Olympics Massachusetts, which held its August tournament over the weekend, during which athletes observed a moment of silence before competing in bocce, softball, golf and other sports, in honor of Shriver. "She is a determined individual who has had a profound impact upon the quality of life for people with intellectual disabilities worldwide."

"She was another Kennedy who didn’t sit things out, sit back and wait for returns from trust funds and investments, decided to live a life of service, and purpose," writes Mike Lupica of The New York Post, who came to know Shriver via volunteering for the Special Olympics. "In her own way, she fought for people unable to fight for themselves the way her brothers did."

Our thoughts are with the family — the Kennedys, Shrivers and extended family of 150 million Special Olympians — of Eunice Kennedy Shriver.