Ethel Kennedy, the mother of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and matriarch of the famous Democratic family, passed away this week at the age of 96.

In response to a "beautiful" and heartfelt tribute posted online by the grieving son, RFK Jr.'s wife, Cheryl Hines, said that his late mother was "very proud" of him, according to People magazine.

That assertion from Hines may come as a surprise to some, given how her husband's staunchly Democratic family has largely denounced and disowned him over his unorthodox views on certain issues and his firm backing of the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, in next month's presidential election.

Beloved mother now reunited with her late husband

In a post to Instagram on Thursday, Kennedy Jr. shared how his mother had "passed peacefully" in Boston, Massachusetts, while surrounded by her "nine surviving children" and friends, and how "God gave her 34 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and the energy to give them all the attention they required."

"He blessed her with a rich and eventful life," he wrote. "Even as she declined in recent months, she never lost her sense of fun, her humor, her spark, her spunk, and her joie de vivre. She wrung joy from every moment, but for 56 years she has spoken with yearning of the day she would reunite with her beloved husband" -- the late U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY), who was assassinated while running for the presidency in 1968.

Kennedy observed that his mother had now reunited in the afterlife with his deceased father and two siblings, her own two parents and six siblings who preceded her in death, and her other "adopted" siblings and relatives of the Kennedy clan who had previously passed away, as well as her several beloved Irish Setter dogs, all of which had been named "Rusty."

Mother credited for his "virtues," gratitude for "overlooking my faults"

In continuing the tribute to his mother, Kennedy wrote, "God also endowed her with a perpetual attitude of gratitude that fueled her taste for adventure and an irrepressible buoyancy in a life beset by a continuous parade of heartbreaking tragedies. Her sunny optimism eventually brought my shattered father back to life following the assassination of his brother and then helped her children to thrive after her husband's assassination five years later."

"My mother invented tough love, and she could be hard on her children when we didn’t live up to her expectations," he continued at another point. "But she was also intensely loyal, and we always knew that she would stand fiercely behind us when we came under attack by others. She was our role model for self-discipline, for resilience, and for self-confidence."

Kennedy concluded his touching ode to his late mother by adding, "I credit her for all my virtues. I’m grateful for her generosity in overlooking my faults."

"Your mother was very proud of you"

People magazine reported that Hines, in reply to her husband's moving words about his mother, commented on the post, "This is beautiful. Your mother was very proud of you."

Newsweek reported that in addition to commenting on Kennedy's post about his mother, Hines posted a tribute of her own to social media and wrote, "My mother-in-law, Ethel Kennedy, Bobby's mother, passed this morning."

"It has been my great honor to have shared laughter and love with Ethel," she continued. "Her charisma, wisdom and strength will live on with me in every memory of her. Bobby and I spent many warm nights in Hyannis Port having dinner with her and hearing stories from her extraordinary life."

Hines added, "She always made me laugh. She was never too serious except when she needed to be. She dressed to nines with bare feet. She will be missed. My love is with the family."

Both Newsweek and People reached out to Kennedy and Hines for comment about their respective posts but neither received a response.