Michael and Kitty Dukakis respond to the cheers of the delegates at the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention. (Getty Images)
The Washington Post and the New York Times both reported that John Dukakis said his mother's cause of death was complications from dementia and that she died at her home in Brookline, Mass.
Kitty Dukakis was the first lady of Massachusetts during her husband's three nonconsecutive terms and supported Michael Dukakis during his unsuccessful presidential run against Vice President George H.W. Bush.
In what was considered a pivotal moment of the campaign, Michael Dukakis was asked by CNN moderator Bernard Shaw during the first presidential debate, "Governor, if Kitty Dukakis was raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?" He responded flatly, "No, I don't, Bernard," and went on to reiterate his opposition to the death penalty.
Kitty Dukakis later said her husband admitted "I really blew it," with an answer that was widely perceived as emotionless and tone-deaf. She also condemned the question as "outrageous."
Michael and Kitty Dukakis talk to journalists while waiting for the results of the Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial primary in Boston on Sept. 19, 1978. (Barbara Alper/Getty Images)
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Her father was Ellis Dickson, the first violinist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a conductor of the Boston Pops. She detailed a more complicated relationship with her mother, Jane (Goldberg) Dickson, in her first book, "Now You Know."
Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kitty-dukakis-wife-former-massachusetts-governor-presidential-hopeful-michael-dukakis-dead-88