Ted Kennedy's sons bid adieu to their passionate father

Washington, Aug. 30 (ANI): At the funeral mass of Senator Edward Kennedy, his sons-Ted Kennedy Jr. and Patrick Kennedy-eulogized and shared their personal memories and stories revealing how passionate father he had been.

"He was not perfect - far from it. But my father believed in redemption and he never surrendered, never stopped trying to right wrongs, either as a result of his own failings or ours," CBS news quoted Ted Kennedy Jr., as saying.

His father, Ted said, will be remembered as the "workhorse of the Senate" and a "beacon of social justice." Patrick Kennedy noted that he and his father co-wrote legislation to provide health insurance coverage for those suffering from mental illness.

"My dad was never bowed, he never gave up, and there was never quit in dad," Patrick said.

The brothers recalled Senator Kennedy's ability to work with his opponents.

"He even taught me some of life's harder lessons-such as how to like Republicans," Ted said to laughter. "He once told me 'Teddy, Republicans love this country just as much as I do."

Patrick said his father's approach to politics was similar to the way he approached his other life passions, such as boat racing.

"I saw a lot of his political philosophy in those races. One thing that I noticed on the boat, as in this country, there was a role for everybody, a place for everybody to contribute," he said.

Along with sailing, Senator Kennedy had a zeal for a number of activities from painting to skiing to rodeo riding, the brothers said.

He was recruited to join the Greenbay Packers footbal team as a young man but decided to go to law school instead.

One of the greatest lessons he passed on, Ted said, was to never give up. He shared the story of how, when he was 12 years old, his father helped him climb an icy hill, even though Ted Jr. had lost a leg to cancer.

"He held me around my waist, and we slowly made it to the top. He said, 'I know you can do it. We're going to climb that hill together if it takes us all day. And I knew I was going to be OK...He taught me that nothing is impossible," he said. (ANI)