Pauline Fitzgerald; the force behind famed JFK tea parties

Pauline Fitzgerald, with Jack Kennedy during his campaign for the US Senate. (file 1952)

When Henry Cabot Lodge lost his US Senate seat to John F. Kennedy in 1952, he reportedly blamed "those damn tea parties" for the defeat.

The organizer of those famous informal, meet-the-candidate gatherings, Polly Fitzgerald, drew inspiration from Lodge's remark. She later oversaw events for Kennedy's White House bid and for the campaigns of his brothers Edward and Robert, playing a key role in helping to build the vaunted political dynasty.

Pauline (McNamara) Fitzgerald, whom the Kennedys called "Cousin Polly," died of a stroke Feb. 1 at Fox Hill Village in Westwood, where she had lived for two years. She was 88 and previously lived in Needham and Osterville.

"Polly was a dear cousin and a wonderful friend to me and to my parents, my sisters, and my brothers, and will be deeply missed," Senator Edward M. Kennedy said. "All of us in the Kennedy family will always remember her kind spirit and wit. She campaigned in every corner of the commonwealth and many parts of the country for my brothers and me, and we'll always cherish those famous Kennedy Teas that brought out the vote each and every time."

She never lost her love of politics, said her daughter, Joan F. Quealy, of Northborough. "She was ordering her absentee ballot on the day before she died."

Her husband, Edward J. Fitzgerald, was a Kennedy cousin and nephew of John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, the mayor of Boston.

In his foreword to Mrs. Fitzgerald's oral history for the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in the 1990s, Senator Kennedy described her as an invaluable part of the family's campaigns. "Jack was devoted to her. Bobby adored her. Mother said she was simply the best. My sisters feel the same way," he said.

"Polly and her team of assistants created a brilliant grass-roots organization," he said. For John Kennedy's first Senate race, "They had 33 teas in all . . . and the excitement and enthusiasm they generated helped carry the day for Jack."

Born in Jamaica Plain to Joseph and Margaret (Coleman) McNamara, Mrs. Fitzpatrick graduated from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. She was active in various cultural and educational groups, such as the Ace of Clubs founded by family matriarch Rose Kennedy. She married Edward Fitzgerald in 1945.

Next to her family and politics, friends said, she loved bridge and played it weekly for years with the same group.

When John Kennedy asked her to organize the first tea, she told him she "knew nothing about politics." The future president replied: "You don't need to. You just need to know about people."

The teas, held in private homes and hotels, would not only get women to vote but also motivate them to discuss candidates with their husbands and others. For the gatherings, often held on Sundays, the women would dress in their finest and drink coffee and tea poured from silver urns.

Guests also met the candidate's mother and sisters, and Rose Kennedy would most often introduce her son.

The first tea in 1952 was at the Bancroft Hotel in Worcester. Organizers expected 1,000; they got 5,000. It took several hours for Rose Kennedy and her son to shake everyone's hand.

That event was so successful, the Kennedys decided that only Mrs. Fitzgerald would run them.

The second tea was in Quincy, and by then the organization had kicked into high gear. It took about three weeks to organize each one in the towns where she and her committee worked with the Kennedy organization there.

"It was day and night. It was total commitment," she said in the oral history.

When John Kennedy ran for reelection to the Senate, he did not hold any tea parties. But in January 1960, the phone rang at Mrs. Fitzgerald's home: It was Bobby Kennedy asking whether she would come to Wisconsin for a few days to help Jack because he was announcing his presidential bid.

"I didn't know where Wisconsin was," Mrs. Fitzgerald said. With two small daughters at the time, she did not plan on staying long. But she ended up organizing teas in that state.

Jacqueline Kennedy sometimes joined her husband in Wisconsin, Mrs. Fitzgerald wrote. Late one night, someone asked the future first lady to get the people singing.

"So she got up to the mike and said, 'Does anyone know, 'Southie is my Hometown' "? Mrs. Fitzgerald recalled.

The teas eventually expanded to become receptions, and men were welcome.

From Wisconsin, Mrs. Fitzgerald went with the Kennedys to the West Virginia primary, where barbecues replaced some of the teas.

"Jack Kennedy was in Washington the day he won the West Virginia primary and flew back there to be with us at a small staff party," she said. "It was the last time it would be that intimate."

Once Kennedy became the Democratic nominee, Mrs. Fitzgerald and her committee moved on to Washington, D.C., to work in the Democratic National Committee office, which was now calling the shots about the candidate's appearances.

Still, Mrs. Fitzgerald called on many of her friends for volunteer help, among them, Ann Whelan, of Cohasset. "Polly was an amazing organizer," Whelan said by phone, pointing out that she had to "schedule the appearances of about five Kennedy women five days a week around the country."

The bond between the Kennedys and Fitzgeralds remained strong after John Kennedy became president. The Fitzgeralds were welcome at the White House any time.

During one visit, Mrs. Fitzgerald wrote, President Kennedy said to her daughter, Rosemary F. Monahan now of Raleigh, N.C., "You know, I wouldn't be here now if it weren't for your mother."

Mrs. Fitzgerald was in her Needham kitchen when she learned President Kennedy had been assassinated. She and her husband drove to Hyannis Port to comfort the family.

When Robert Kennedy ran for the Senate in New York and for president, Mrs. Fitzgerald was called to plan teas and other events for his campaign. She was at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles when he won the California primary in 1968.

"He hugged me and we talked and I said, 'You're going to be president, and when you are, don't you forget the middle-class people of this country in your zeal for the underprivileged,' " she said. "He said, 'I won't. I won't' and he gave me a little hug and a kiss. He went down to the ballroom and got shot."

Her husband died in 1987. In addition to her two daughters, Mrs. Fitzgerald leaves a sister, Elizabeth Hughes of West Hartford, Conn.; and seven grandchildren.

Services have been held.