The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Jackie Kennedy’s stepbrother Hugh Auchincloss dies
Hugh D Auchincloss III, stepbrother and lifelong friend of Jacqueline Kennedy, has died at the age of 87.
Mr Auchincloss, who was also a step sibling to the writer Gore Vidal and was known by the nickname Yusha, died on Saturday of B-cell lymphoma at his home at Hammersmith Farm in Rhode Island, according to his children.
The property in Newport is where John F Kennedy spent time during his presidency. Jackie Kennedy and Mr Auchincloss were teenagers when her mother, Janet Lee Bouvier, married his father, Hugh D Auchincloss Jr.
The two were close before the marriage and remained close until Mrs Kennedy died in 1994, according to his daughter, Maya Auchincloss. He was a year older than his stepsister. “They had a lot of respect for each other and whoever the other one was seeing, they would introduce and meet and get each other’s approval and advice about things,” she said.
Maya Auchincloss recalled a family story about the first time Jacqueline introduced Mr Auchincloss to JFK.
“She was living in Washington and invited my father over for dinner this wonderful evening and said ‘Now, you should remember Jack’s a Democrat and you’re a Republican. Be careful whatyousay.’ Butitwentverysmoothly,” she said.
She said her father voted for Mr Kennedy, and the two sometimes played golf together.
“They had a very similar sense of humour and really enjoyed being around each other,” she said.
Before his marriage to Ms Bouvier, Hugh D Auchincloss Jr was married to Nina Gore, Vidal’s mother.
After living in Washington and New York, Mr Auchincloss spent the last few decades of his life in Newport, where he was involved in causes including the environment, the historical society and the US Naval War College.
Maya Auchincloss remembered her father as a gentle soul known for his spirit and humour.
“I think that the people that knew him saw pretty much what I saw, which was just a wonderful spirit, great humour and a very gentle and kind person,” she said.
“He smiled through his life, basically,” she said.