Kitty Dukakis, Former First Lady and Author, Passes Away at 88

Kitty Dukakis, the former first lady of Massachusetts and notable author, has passed away at age 88, PEOPLE reported. She was married to Michael Dukakis, the former governor of Massachusetts and Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. She died surrounded by family on March 21, as confirmed by her son, John Dukakis.

John shared with The Washington Post that Kitty’s cause of death was complications from dementia.

Kitty Dukakis was born Katherine Dickson on December 26, 1936, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was raised in a Jewish family and graduated from high school in Brookline. Kitty studied briefly at Pennsylvania State University but eventually left to marry her first husband, John Chaffetz Sr. They moved around before settling, and had one son, John Jr., during their four-year marriage.

After her divorce, she returned to Cambridge, where a friend introduced her to Michael Dukakis. "I found him very sexually attractive," she recalled in a 1987 Time magazine interview. "People don't think of Michael that way—that's why it’s fun to talk about it." They married in 1963, the same year Kitty completed her bachelor's degree in education from Lesley College. Kitty and Michael later had two daughters, Andrea and Kara.

Kitty earned two master's degrees from Boston University, one in broadcast and film, and another in social work. As a social worker, Kitty contributed as a board member for both the Refugee Policy Group and Refugees International. President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the commission on the Holocaust, where she played a key role in establishing the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

In 1990, after experiencing struggles with alcoholism and depression during her husband's third term as first lady, she published her memoir, "Now You Know." This work candidly addressed her battle with mental health and substance use, along with the emotional fallout from Michael’s presidential campaign loss to George H.W. Bush.

"I was an alcoholic before Michael lost," she admitted in a 1989 Los Angeles Times interview post-recovery. "One event does not make one an alcoholic," she added, highlighting her ongoing struggles.

In 2006, she co-authored "Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy," emphasizing ECT as her effective treatment for depression. Kitty and Michael later became advocates for reducing the stigma surrounding ECT. "That’s our goal: not just remission, but return to living a full life," she stated in a 2015 Politico article.

Kitty Dukakis is survived by her husband, son, and other family members.

Earlier, SSP wrote that Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively will miss this year's Met Gala.