Marian Robinson, Michelle Obama’s Mother, is dead

Marian Robinson, the mother of former First Lady Michelle Obama, who provided support and stability, especially during Barack Obama’s eight-year presidency, passed away on Friday, the Obama and Robinson families announced.

She was 86 years old. Dubbed the “First Grandmother,” Robinson played a crucial role in supporting her granddaughters, Malia and Sasha Obama, during their early years in the White House.

“Despite her health concerns, she agreed to move to the White House with Michelle and Barack. We needed her. The girls needed her. She ended up being our rock through it all,” the family statement read, adding that she died “peacefully on Friday morning.”

Born in 1937 on the South Side of Chicago, Robinson was one of seven children.

Her parents separated during her youth, and she witnessed the highs and lows of racial relations in the United States.

Her father was not allowed to join the union or work for major construction companies due to his skin color, leading him to “grow up mistrustful of a world that seemed to have little room for him,” the family statement said.

However, her daughter and son-in-law reached the White House when Barack Obama became the first Black president of the U.S.

The splendor of the White House did not impress Robinson, according to the family.

Rather than being thrilled by Oscar winners or Nobel laureates, she preferred to spend her time upstairs with a TV tray, in a room adjacent to her bedroom with large windows overlooking the Washington Monument, the family statement said.

It added that she made close friends “with the staff and bartenders, the people who make the White House a home.”

Robinson married in 1960 and had two children, including the former First Lady. She also worked as a teacher and secretary, the family said.

During the eight years in the White House, the family said she often sneaked out of the gate to buy greeting cards at nearby stores, and occasionally other customers would recognize her, noting she resembled the First Lady’s mother.

“Oh, I get that a lot,” she would smile and reply.