Michelle Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, died at age 86

September 2024 · 2 minute read

The mother of former First Lady, Michelle Obama, died, according to a statement released by the family.

Marian Lois Shields Robinson died Friday at age 86.

Her daughter wrote, "My mom Marian Robinson was my rock, always there for whatever I needed. She was the same steady backstop for our entire family, and we are heartbroken to share she passed away today. We wanted to offer some reflections on her remarkable life."

The former 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, wrote, "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"

Robinson spent time as a grandma at the White House when Barack Obama was the Commander-in-Chief.

"The trappings and glamour of the White House were never a great fit for Marian Robinson," stated Barack Obama.

Robinson liked spending time at home rather than mixing it up with notable names at Red Carpet events.

“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," he explained.

Michelle Obama had announced last year that the "Opening the White House" exhibit in the Obama Presidential Center museum would be named in her mother's honor.

"My mother gave me non-stop, unconditional love in so many ways. She fostered in me a deep sense of confidence in who I was and who I could be by teaching me how to think for myself, how to use my own voice, and how to understand my own worth," Michelle Obama said last year. "I simply wouldn’t be who I am today without her. And that’s why this Mother’s Day, I’m so excited to announce that we’ll be dedicating a space at the Obama Presidential Center in her honor."

The Obama family spoke highly of their loved one soon after her passing.

Marian Lois Shields Robinson — our mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother — had a way of summing up the truths about life in a word or two, maybe a quick phrase that made everyone around her stop and think. Her wisdom came off as almost innate, as something she was born with, but in reality it was hard-earned, fashioned by her deep understanding that the world’s roughest edges could always be sanded down with a little grace.

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