JFK'S WILL -- The Secrets
AGC Queen
JOHN F. KENNEDY Jr.'s will reveals he had two "secret" godchildren -- the son
and daughter of a woman he'd known since he was a teenager.
Most of Kennedy's estate, estimated at up to $100 million, goes to the three
young children of his sister Caroline.
But according to legal documents obtained by The ENQUIRER, bequests were also
left to his nanny, his mother's butler, two cousins, two charities -- as well
as his godchildren, Phineas Howie, 7, and his sister Olivia, 4.
And in an exclusive ENQUIRER interview, the godchildren's mom Alexandra "Sasha"
Chermayeff revealed:
"John and I met when we were 15 years old or so at Phillips Academy in Andover,
Mass., and remained friends.
"John was godfather to my children -- we were that close.
"I always believed I would know him as an old woman, when he was an old man. I
didn't ever think that he would die so young."
Sasha is now a painter living in Catskill, N.Y.
Her husband, sculptor Philip Howie, told The ENQUIRER: "I think John loved us
-- he loved our family and we loved him. He was one of my wife's closest
friends from when they were teenagers, and when my wife and I married, he
became one of my closest friends, too.
"It does my children a certain amount of honor to be included in his will. We
were hoping that our children, and any children John had, would grow up
together. It is so sad."
Asked why their friendship escaped public knowledge, Philip said: "Out of
loyalty to John, we never talked to the press about him."
Philip and Sasha would not discuss the amount of their children's bequests.
Others included in a list of 14 beneficiaries are Marta Sgubin, who was
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' cook for 25 years, and Ephigenio Pinheiro, her
personal assistant.
"I was John's nanny -- his and Caroline's," Marta told The ENQUIRER. "I raised
them both until they left for boarding school. Then I became Mrs. Onassis'
cook."
Marta said she hired Pinheiro and he became Jackie's butler. When Jackie died,
he went with John Jr., and Marta went with Caroline.
"John was like my own little boy," Marta added. "He had such a terrific
personality, and lots of charm."
Kennedy signed his will on Dec. 19, 1997, some 15 months after his marriage to
Carolyn Bessette, who died with him in the tragic plane crash on July 16, along
with her sister Lauren.
The will begins: "I give all my tangible personal property (as distinguished
from money, securities and the like), wherever located . . . to my wife,
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy."
In the event his wife didn't outlive him, his will provided that his belongings
would go to their children, if they had any. If not, he directed that all the
property go to Caroline's children.
Cousins Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Timothy Shriver -- the executor of the will
-- are the only other members of the Kennedy clan named.
John gave bequests to two charities -- "Reaching Up," which aids workers who
help people with disabilities, and the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library
Foundation.
He also gave bequests to his longtime personal assistant Rosemarie Terenzio and
a writer, Robert Littell, a longtime friend.
And in a touching gesture, John gave his beloved scrimshaw set -- carved
whalebone -- to Caroline's 6-year-old son John, who remains the only direct
male descendant of President Kennedy.
When John was a toddler in the White House, one of his favorite pastimes was
playing with the scrimshaw pieces in the Oval Office.
In his will, Kennedy asked that some of his secret possessions, including those
in his New York apartment, be destroyed after his death.
The court filing also contains a vivid reminder of his death -- a copy of his
death certificate. It reveals that John's remains were cremated at Duxbury
Crematory in Duxbury, Mass., on July 21.
And the court papers disclose that his sister Caroline signed documents
relating to the will on August 9 -- one day before the death of her 40-year-old
cousin Antony Radziwill, the original executor of John's will.
-- JOHN BLOSSER
Send email to: PUSSS...@aol.com
RickMo3
those
in his New York apartment, be destroyed after his death. >>
Everytime I read anything pertaining to John's death I'm struck again by the
profound sadness I feel about it..
******Half Full, Half M.T.******
Moe