JFK Jr.'s Assistant Remembers Camelot's Prince

July 27, 2009 — -- From the time he was a child, John F. Kennedy Jr. captured America's attention.

The country watched the prince of Camelot grow from young boy to idealistic lawyer and then a loving husband. Though he was under the constant heat of the spotlight, Kennedy always fought for normalcy in his life.

Few people knew the junior Kennedy better than Rose Marie Terenzio, his personal assistant and confidant. Their friendship blossomed through a chance encounter.

Kennedy was starting George magazine and renting office space in Manhattan. The political magazine shared the same floor as the public relations company where Terenzio worked.

"He moved into my office one weekend and I came in on Monday morning and I was not pleased," Terenzio said. "And as someone once said, who was in the office at the time, 'You could have been arrested in some states for the way you just spoke to him.'"

Terenzio and Kennedy's early interactions couldn't have foreshadowed their future close relationship.

"I wouldn't say I didn't like him. I would say I was sort of indifferent to him, which is probably worse," Terenzio said.

But thanks to Kennedy's charm, the relationship warmed quickly.

"I think John's wit and sense of humor was what really won me over," said Terenzio. "He was very wise. He was very intelligent, and he was also someone who loved practical jokes."

Terenzio worked closely with Kennedy and helped him grow his magazine and business. She came to appreciate his style.

"There's something about manners that go a long way, and John had impeccable manners. And it wasn't something that he thought about. And I think the fact that he never -- he rarely made assumptions. He went into every situation open," she said.

Though Terenzio said Kennedy did entertain the idea of entering the political arena, his first priority was his magazine.

"What he was really doing was focusing on making George successful, and he was really proud of it," Terenzio said.

Only then would the idea of politics become more viable.

"I think that it was something that he thought about it," Terenzio said. "There was certainly an interest, but I think that John was someone who thought when you and if you do this, you need to do it very carefully, and you need to be really prepared."