A Tribute to the Life and Times of Kitty Dukakis on Her Passing:
A Profile in Courage
by Peter Baiter
Those of us who followed the illustrious career of Kitty Dukakis were saddened to learn of her passing on March 21, 2025, in her beloved home territory of Brookline, Massachusetts, at the ripe old age of 88. To use a term coined by a fellow Massachusetts Democrat, President John F. Kennedy, Kitty’s life and accomplishments truly deserve to be recognized as a “Profile in Courage.”
Kitty is a rightful daughter of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Born in Cambridge in 1936, she grew up in Brookline and graduated from Brookline High School in 1954. Besides her B.A. degree from Lesley College, Boston, 1963, she earned two M.A. degrees in later life, one from the College of Communication, Boston University, 1982, the second from the School of Social Work, Boston University, 1996.
Kitty’s family was Jewish, having descended from Hungarian Jews on her mother’s side and Russian Jews on her father’s side. When involved in political campaigns, Kitty often made a special point of reaching out to Jewish voters; for many years she served on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council under presidents Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush.
Kitty’s energy and good works in so many areas of political life began when she graduated from Lesley College and married her lifelong partner and devoted supporter, Michael Dukakis. Michael, a Greek-American, served three terms as Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts between 1975 and 1991, and was the Democratic Party candidate for President of the United States in 1988.
As Michael worked in public service, Kitty worked alongside him to help homeless people in Massachusetts and refugee children in Vietnam and Cambodia. At various times Kitty faced a number of serious challenges and disappointments, both professional and personal, but she always rose to the occasion and showed a remarkable degree of courage and resilience.
On the campaign trail with Michael, Kitty was a demanding and efficient organizer, and according to one critic, a “poised and energetic public speaker,” while also displaying a fine sense of humor. At the same time, a very challenging and difficult period in Kitty’s life began in 1988, when Michael was chosen by the Democratic party to be the presidential candidate to run against George H.W. Bush. The election turned out to be a nasty affair with lots of personal attacks, mainly from the Republicans. Most of these were directed at Michael, but Bush’s campaign manager went after Kitty as well, accusing her falsely of having burned an American flag during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration.
Kitty recovered from this incident and later received an apology from the Republican campaign director for his “naked cruelty.” But the campaign revealed a darker side of Kitty’s personal sufferings, namely her alcoholism and persistent bouts with depression. To her credit, Kitty acknowledged this situation publicly, with an eye to helping others deal with such challenges. Three years later she published Now You Know, a candid discussion of alcoholism and the pressures of being a “political wife” which she hoped would help others with similar problems.
Despite her treatment for alcoholism, Kitty’s depression worsened. In 2001 she agreed to undergo electroconvulsive therapy (ECT); this treatment improved her situation so much that she became an active proponent of ECT to treat depression, allowing CBS’s “Sixty Minutes” to film one of her ECT sessions. For the rest of her life, Kitty worked tirelessly to help people struggling with addiction and depression, including running her own support groups. This effort is a major component of her deeply humanitarian legacy.
In southern Europe, Kitty made direct contact with Greece and also Democrats Abroad Greece. Starting in 1999, Kitty made three trips with Michael to Athens and Thessaloniki, where she met students and staff from American schools in both Athens and Thessaloniki.
When Michael and Kitty Dukakis came to Pinewood American International School of Thessaloniki, they met up with some of their family members, including Kitty’s sister, her sister’s husband, and her nephew Michael, whose two children were students at the Pinewood Elementary School at the time.
I still remember how all of us at Pinewood were completely charmed by Kitty’s and Michaels’s stories of their life in politics and public service. With their passionate speaking style and warm sense of humor, both Kitty and Michael seemed perfectly comfortable while talking with Pinewood students of all ages and grade levels. At the end of their visit, as a memento of the occasion, we presented them with a Pinewood parent cookbook.
During their visit to the American College of Thessaloniki, Kitty and Michael met with a large group of American expats who wanted to stay in closer touch with political developments in the USA, and they provided us with lots of valuable practical suggestions on how to do so. As some of the Americans present were members of Democrats Abroad, Kitty and Michael urged them to try to create a chapter of Democrats Abroad in Northern Greece. After some trying first efforts, this was finally accomplished in 2010. Today, the Thessaloniki Chapter of Democrats Abroad Greece is a thriving enterprise.
In 1999, the trustees of Anatolia College of Thessaloniki decided to create a Center for Public and Humanitarian Service under the auspices of the American College of Thessaloniki to honor Michael Dukakis. They further agreed that the new center should bear the name not only of Michael Dukakis but also his wife and longtime support, Kitty Dukakis. The final approved name of the center clearly recognizes the crucial role and accomplishments of Kitty Dukakis during her six decades with Michael.
Indeed, the Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service appropriately honors her memory. She will be missed.
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For more on the life and work of Kitty Dukakis, we include the National Herald article here:
Kitty Dukakis, Former First Lady of Massachusetts Passes Away in Boston
The National Herald, MAR 22, 2025