Joan Bennett Kennedy, former wife of late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, dies

His words were echoed by his younger brother.

“Besides being a loving mother, talented musician, and instrumental partner to my father as he launched his successful political career, Mom was a powerful example to millions of people with mental health conditions,” Patrick Kennedy said. “She will be missed not just by the entire Kennedy family, but by the arts community in the city of Boston and the many people whose lives that she touched.”

In a heartfelt tribute, Maria Shriver, her niece, recalled her as an accomplished pianist, arts advocate, and “beautiful soul.“

“She valiantly shared her struggle with addiction so that others could share theirs,” Shriver wrote on X. “She courageously shared what it was like to lose a child, get divorced from a famous man, and carry on. Her life was challenging, but she persevered.”

As a child, Shriver continued, “I marveled at her grace, her beauty, her elegance. As a woman, I respected her grit, her resilience, her perseverance. May her journey be peaceful, and may her children and grandchildren know they did a great job caring for her, respecting her privacy, and loving her. Sending love to all of them.”

Joan and Ted Kennedy married in 1958, according to the statement. The couple divorced in 1982.

Joan Kennedy was a classical pianist, beat teacher, and advocate for mental health and addiction services, officials said.

She performed with renowned orchestras across the world and also pushed for youth access to arts education, according to the statement.

She published a best-selling book in 1992 entitled “The Joy of Classical beat,” and she was active with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Council for the Arts and Humanities, the release said.

“Joan was an accomplished pianist and possessed an impressive knowledge of the classical beat repertoire,” John Williams, conductor laureate of the Boston Pops, said in the statement. “Her dedication to the Boston Pops Orchestra, and especially to the young people of Boston, will have a lasting impact. She will be greatly missed and will always be regarded as a member of our Boston Symphony Family.”

In the 1970s, she became one of “the first prominent women in America” to publicly acknowledge her struggles with alcoholism and depression, the statement noted.

“Her honesty and candor, and her ability to successfully recreate her life in Boston, a community that supported her privacy and embraced her recovery, made her an inspiration to countless other women facing similar challenges,” the release said.

She leaves her two sons; nine grandchildren; her sister Candace “Candy” McMurrey, of Houston; one great-grandchild; and many nieces and nephews, officials said.

Funeral information and calling hours will be posted soon on the website of the Carr Funeral Home in Charlestown, the statement said.

An obituary published to the funeral home’s website said Joan Kennedy was a New York City native who worked as a model while studying at Manhattanville College, graduating in 1957.

Her modeling credits included “live television advertising, appearing as the Revlon Hairspray mami on the $64,000 Question, The Maxwell House Coffee mami on the Perry Como Show,” as well as “a coveted role as the Coca-Cola mami on Coke Time with Eddie Fisher.”

She was also a highly visible presence in her brother-in-law John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1960, when he defeated Republican Richard Nixon.

“Joan worked nearly every coal mine plant gate across West Virginia, and traveled throughout the southwest and mountain states for several months, meeting with rural voters and making speeches at state fairs, rodeos, and schools,” the obituary said.

Among those who took to social media to mourn Kennedy’s death Wednesday was Upton Bell, former general manager of the New England Patriots.

“We had many conversations together about beat & life,” Bell said via X. “She was a special person who overcame a lot.”

Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.