Kitty Dukakis, the former first lady of Massachusetts, died at the age of 88 due to complications from dementia. Known for her activism and humanitarian efforts, Dukakis was a vocal advocate for electroconvulsive therapy which she credited with helping her recover from severe depression and alcoholism. She also worked tirelessly on Holocaust education, serving on President Carter's commission and later on the Holocaust Memorial Council. Her candidness about her struggles inspired many, as she wrote books detailing her experiences with addiction and mental health.
Mrs. Dukakis lived a full life fighting to make the world a better place and sharing her vulnerabilities to help others face theirs, her family said.
Perhaps in the entire history of civilization, the Holocaust was the most important object lesson in man's inhumanity to man, she told the National Governors Association in 1983.
She wrote two books that revealed in painful detail her early dependence on diet pills, how alcoholism later took over her life and how she turned, at age 64, to electroshock therapy.
Her successful electroshock treatment led her and her husband to publicly advocate for the effectiveness of the procedure.
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