Gretchen Bryson, 57, has lived in Occidental with her family for the past 23 years.

As tears of rain fell gracefully over Boston, when those who loved him most were finished praising his life, I was launched back in time and flooded with a wave of memories of the two years I lived with Sen. Edward Kennedy's family as governess, friend and instant mother, all at the tender age of 24.

My dearest friend, Janet Rasak, whom I knew from my years at UCLA, had just moved to Washington, D.C., and had landed the job of social secretary for Ethel Kennedy.

One afternoon in 1977, having just graduated from the UC Santa Barbara and pounding the pavement for a job, Janet called me and asked me if I wanted to be the governess for Sen. Kennedy's family. I quickly got off the hot pavement and on to the next plane to D.C.

I grew up in Los Altos in a wonderfully functional family. I was the second of four girls, all two years apart. We were close-knit and supportive, so when I embarked on this exciting adventure, they were delighted. Because I came from such a loving, normal family, it never really impressed me that the Kennedys were famous and all.

I think that's why they liked me right off. We seemed to be "like-minded" and mellow. They had no pretensions from the very beginning. My new life easily took root and the adventure was off to a great start.

The kids understood the term "noblesse oblige" from birth and grew from a family tree rooted in social obligation. I remember how hard it was at times for the kids, sometimes verbalizing their frustrations by wishing to be anyone but a Kennedy.

The kids had many demanding family obligations, but they rarely faltered. They were innately wired to life's responsibilities and genuinely lived from that base. They knew what was expected of them and rose to the occasion without resentment or insincerity.

Their lives were made more normal and well adjusted due to their long heritage of social responsibility. They treated me with love and respect during my two years with them. I learned from them as they did from me.

I remember as if it were yesterday my first day on the job. It was a balmy October afternoon when the senator's aide pulled up in front of an elegant, yet unpretentious U-shaped ranch-style home in McClean, Va. I can still feel how damp and uncomfortable the lining of my new, wool, East Coast pants felt.

As the aide deposited me and my bags at the front door of my new home, the door burst open and Patrick, 9 years old then, ran up to greet me. He was a doll.We instantly connected. In about another hour, Teddy Jr., 15, and Kara, 16, were due home. I anxiously awaited our meeting. Gladly, Kara and Teddy, too, welcomed me and made me comfortable right away.

My dad was a real jokester and tormented my youngest sister, Stephanie, who was living at home, with calls pretending to be Ted Kennedy. He had her going a few times and she was getting annoyed.

One Friday, the phone rang and when Stephanie answered it, the caller identified himself as Sen. Kennedy. Before he could say another word, Stephanie barked, "Yeah, right Dad. You are so immature. Will you stop calling? I can tell it's your voice so just stop, please," and hung up.

A few minutes passed and the phone rang again. Before Stephanie could even say hello, the caller said that indeed he was the senator, and that he was calling to invite my family to the speech he was giving at neighboring Stanford University.

He told her to meet his aide at the south entrance and that they would be taken care of. A meek "thank you" escaped Stephanie's lips, drawing a deep chuckle from the senator as he quickly said goodbye. Well, my family received the red-carpet treatment all the way. The senator personally seated them in the front row, and had a great chat with them afterward. Needless to say, they were delighted and honored.

That night, the senator called me at the family home near Washington, D.C., to check in. I didn't know that he was in Palo Alto, so when he asked me to guess who he had spent time with that night, I was at a total loss. He recounted the evening's events, and Iwas blown away. I had been really homesick and lonely before the senator had left town, so he purposely connected with my family to make me happy.

Later, my mom would tell me how complimentary and appreciative he was for how much the kids loved me and said that I was doing a great job. He proved to be generous in both mind and spirit and thanked me often for my devotion.

Random acts of kindness were innate responses to life for Ted Kennedy. No one was excluded, everyone was important. So many life-developing lessons occurred in my two years with the Kennedys. The family exemplified a generosity of spirit and the many ways kindness could be conveyed.

I feel honored to have learned such ideals from people who honestly lived them, through thick and thin. They never seemed to lose heart or hope. They were real and genuine.