At the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, respect and curiosity after death

HYANNISPORT — On a particularly beautiful October afternoon, a policeman sat in a cruiser on Marchant Avenue with blue lights flashing. An American flag was lowered to half-staff on the private road that houses the Kennedy compound.

It was fitting because the latest in a line of Kennedys had died hours earlier. Ethel Kennedy , 96, wife of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy , died Thursday, a week after having a stroke. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 during his run for the presidency.

The private road signs, the police presence and a security worker couldn't stop the few cars who tried to get a glimpse of the compound. Ethel Kennedy, her family and the extended Kennedy family have held the nation's attention for decades. Some people were curious. Some had heard the news about Ethel Kennedy's death and wanted to pay their respects.

'The Kennedy mystique'

Susan Montemayor was one of them.

"I watched the documentary about Ethel," Montemayor said. "She was a very interesting woman. It's the Kennedy mystique."

She and her husband, Leo, had come to the Cape from Chicago for a fall trip. Her father had been a democratic precinct captain in Chicago back in the day. She met President John F. Kennedy in an airport when she was two. She wanted to take a picture.

In the neighborhood of the compound, pink roses on rosebushes at a well-kept home were still colorful, but their scent was faint. Grasses rustled in a slight wind. A few hundred feet away, another American flag was at half-mast. The blue of Hyannis Harbor lay in the distance. A blue and white boat bobbed in the water.

The water has always been a respite for the Kennedy family.

A sail on Thursday

This day was no different. Two of Ethel's children, Max Kennedy and Rory Kennedy, went out into Hyannis Harbor on a sailboat in the afternoon.

A few cars edged their way down Dale Avenue but were told to keep driving past Marchant Avenue. An Amazon delivery driver was let through. So was a woman dropping off groceries.

A woman walked by. She hadn't heard the news about Ethel Kennedy dying. "It's part of life," she said.

Jaime Hughes and another woman stood at a split rail fence looking down Marchant Avenue. The West Barnstable resident said she'd read a few books about Ethel Kennedy.

"I think she's done a lot of great things," Hughes said.

Denise Coffey writes about business, tourism and issues impacting the Cape’s residents and visitors. Contact her at dcoffey@capecodonline.com .

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: At the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, respect and curiosity after death