Michelle and Barack Obama’s family said something about their mother’s loss on Friday. She was 86 years old.
Michelle and Barack Obama are sad about the loss of Marian Robinson, Michelle’s mother and the leader of their family. She was 86 years old.
The former president’s official website has a long ode to Marian’s family. She passed away “peacefully” on Friday morning, and “right now, none of us are quite sure how exactly we’ll move on without her.”
The honor talks about Marian’s hard childhood on Chicago’s South Side and how she helped Michelle and her brother Craig Robinson reach all of their personal and professional goals.
“With a healthy nudge, she agreed to move to the White House with Michelle and Barack,” it says. “We had to have her. She was needed by the girls. She turned out to be our rock through it all.”
Fraser, Marian’s husband, passed in 1991, and both of Barack’s parents passed before he even ran for Senate in 2004. They were the only grandparents of the Obama girls who were still alive. People often took pictures of her with the family on Air Force One or at public events. However, the memorial says that while she was at the White House, “the only guest she made a point of asking to meet was the Pope.”
“As a mother, she was our backstop, a calm and nonjudgmental witness to our triumphs and stumbles,” he says. “She was always, always there, welcoming us back home no matter how far we had journeyed, with that deep and abiding love.”
“We will all miss her greatly, and we wish she were here to offer us some perspective, to mend our heavy hearts with a laugh and a dose of her wisdom,” the tribute ends, partly. “Yet we feel better knowing that she is back in the arms of her loving Fraser, that she has moved her TV tray next to his recliner, and that they are clinking their highball glasses while she tells him stories about this crazy, beautiful ride.” “She’s really missed him.”
“There was only one Marian Robinson, and there will be no more.” Even though we are sad, her life is a great gift that makes us feel better. And we’ll try to follow her lead for the rest of our lives.”
