As the Kennedy family continues to grieve, Saoirse Kennedy Hill's father is doing his best to cope with the sudden and tragic loss of a beloved daughter.
On Wednesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared a touching tribute Paul Hill made to his daughter, overcoming his fears to honor her in the best way possible.
(MORE: Katherine Schwarzenegger reflects on 'supportive' family post on Saoirse Kennedy Hill's death)"Saoirse’s Dad, Paul Hill, has a terror of both heights and water. Having grown up in the catholic ghetto of the Falls Road in Belfast, and spent most of his adult life in 38 British prisons, he never learned to swim. Nevertheless, he wanted to jump off the HH buoy in Saoirse’s honor. He asked us to be there to rescue him when he hit the water," he wrote.
He then added photos of the jump and how the family is banding together in support of one another.
Kennedy Hill, the granddaughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy, died after being found unresponsive last Thursday at the Kennedy Compound, officials said. She was laid to rest earlier this week, according to reports.
(MORE: Saoirse Kennedy Hill, granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, dies at 22; no sign of trauma)Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also shared a link to the eulogy he gave at her funeral.
"Saoirse was born in Washington, D.C. but she spent ages four through eight in Ireland. When my younger kids first met her on Cape Cod, she was an adorable, flaxen-haired Irish sprite, with sparkling eyes, peeling laughter, and a thick brogue," the tribute began.
He continued, "We all considered her our own. She had a knack for friendship that put her at the center of an enormous network of our relatives, and their friends, and their friends. She made herself the axel of a sprawling community. She was like a politician. Everywhere I went people knew Saoirse."
In fact, he explained that shortly after her death, "her cousins had posted more than 2,000 photos of her on a shared album. Some of them expressed surprise at finding her in most of their pictures."
"She put out a bright light. Everybody loved her. She made people feel good. Anyone who is tempted to feel badly that you didn’t do enough for Seersh, put that thought away. She felt loved by everyone in this church. It was all authentic. She was very, very, very easy to love," he added.
Kennedy Hill was public about her struggles with depression. In 2016, while still a high school senior at Deerfield Academy, she wrote an op-ed for the school's newspaper mentioning that she left school during her junior year for "treatment for my depression and returned to the valley for my senior year."
Katherine Schwarzenegger and her mother Maria Shiver also posted public tributes to Kennedy Hill earlier this week.
Schwarzenegger wrote, "After wiping away the tears, after the beautiful sunsets, there is always a new day ... It’s not the big events or pretty things that hold you up at the end of the day, it’s family. I feel so incredibly blessed to be part of such a loving, supportive and strong family that shows up in good times and in tough times."
While her mother added, "Life is fragile and heartbreaking. It turns upside down in a minute. Love your children, hold them tight. Love your family, hold them close. Love your friends, keep them near. Be gentle with others, as so many are fragile and struggling."
At the time of Kennedy Hill's death, the family also released a statement.
"Our hearts are shattered by the loss of our beloved Saoirse. Her life was filled with hope, promise and love. She cared deeply about friends and family, especially her mother Courtney, her father Paul, her stepmother Stephanie, and her grandmother Ethel, who said, 'The world is a little less beautiful today,'" the Kennedy family said in the statement.
