2912 Olive St NW

Washington, DC

Mary Jo Kopechne (b. July 26, 1940; d. July 18, 1969) was from a small city in Pennsylvania. She moved to DC in the early 1960s. In 1964, she became Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s secretary. She was an important asset to the office and forged a strong relationship with Kennedy. She helped him pen his announcement of presidential candidacy in 1968. Bobby Kennedy’s death was a major blow to Mary Jo. She left the Hill devastated and joined one of the first political consulting companies. Mary Jo drowned the following year when Bobby’s brother, Ted Kennedy, drove his car off of a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Martha’s Vineyard. The details around what is now known as the Chappaquiddick incident are unclear. Mary Jo was living in this townhouse in Georgetown, located at 2912 Olive Street NW, at the time of her death.