The mother of former First Lady Michelle Obama, Marian Robinson has passed away at the age of 86, as confirmed by a statement from the family that was shared with NBC News.
Robinson gained recognition as the nation’s first grandmother following her son-in-law Barack Obama’s victory in the 2008 presidential election.
Throughout his two terms in office, she was a familiar presence in the White House, although she maintained a low profile. She participated in holiday celebrations, occasional trips abroad, and concerts in the East Room. However, her primary focus was on spending time with her granddaughters, Sasha and Malia.
Despite having spent her entire life in Chicago, Robinson made the decision to relocate to Washington, D.C., in 2009 to reside in the White House and assist in caring for her granddaughters, who were seven and 10 years old at the time.
“She passed peacefully this morning, and right now, none of us are quite sure how exactly we’ll move on without her,” the family statement said.
In their statement Friday, Robinson’s family members said she agreed to leave Chicago with “a healthy nudge.”
“We needed her. The girls needed her. And she ended up being our rock through it all,” they said.
“She relished her role as a grandmother. … And although she enforced whatever household rules we’d set for bedtime, watching TV, or eating candy, she made clear that she sided with her ‘grandbabies’ in thinking that their parents were too darn strict.
“Rather than hobnobbing with Oscar winners or Nobel laureates, she preferred spending her time upstairs with a TV tray, in the room outside her bedroom with big windows that looked out at the Washington Monument. The only guest she made a point of asking to meet was the Pope.
There was and will be only one Marian Robinson. In our sadness, we are lifted up by the extraordinary gift of her life. And we will spend the rest of ours trying to live up to her example, ” the family added in their statement.
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