Beverly Kearney's life is all about speed and winning. She's the legendary head coach of the University of Texas women's track and field team. Under her leadership, the Longhorns have claimed six national 
As soon as her mother's car pulled away, Cathy Harper Lee always counted the blades of grass on the lawn. She hoped to reach a high number. That meant a few moments alone before her step-father ordered her inside. 
By The Survivors Club Staff
August 27, 2009
In the many remembrances of Ted Kennedy, one word resonates loudly and clearly for the many members of The Survivors Club.
Remembering his friend of 56 years in an essay in the Huffington Post, Ted Sorenson, the legendary advisor to President John Kennedy, writes: "Most people do not realize the extent to which (Ted) was, in the final analysis, a survivor. Both his oldest brother and his oldest sister were killed in plane crashes, but he survived the plane crash that broke his back and killed the pilot and co-pilot. As the younger brother of two assassinated young liberal heros, he received his own share of anonymous hate mail and death threats, but he survived to age 77. Both after his plane crash and his automobile accident, I sat at his bedside, wondering if he would have the strength to go on. But he did, and for this last year I had hoped that somehow he would come back again and go on to even greater heights as a champion of America's final effort to achieve accessible health care for all of its citizens."
Ted Kennedy was a remarkable example of resilience - the capacity to recover, reconstitute and rebuild after adversity. Kennedy is also proof that survival isn't just about life and death. Survival is about making the most of one's precious time on earth. In this sense, Ted Kennedy may have lost his battle with brain cancer, but he survives in so many ways.
As Sorenson writes: "Clearly, Teddy Kennedy's own legacy will live on through his children, through the hundreds of important pieces of legislation that he authored, through the brilliant staff that he assembled and dispersed to other important roles around the country, and through the books, articles and speeches he has produced in his 46 years as a United States Senator. Above all, his legacy will live on through the millions of friends he has made and nurtured over the years, both in and out of politics, both in and out of the United States, among members of many races, religions and nationalities. Among all those friends for whom he did so much good, some will mourn and miss him more than others. I am among those who will miss him most."
The Survivors Club extends its deepest sympathies to the Kennedy family, friends, staff, the people of Massachusetts and all those who mourn his loss.
