Marian Robinson, the mother of former first lady Michelle Obama, passed away on Friday, according to her family. Marian moved into the White House with the first family, helping to care for her young granddaughters and offering a reassuring presence in one of the most stressful homes in the world.
“We needed her. The girls needed her. And she ended up being our rock through it all,” her family said in a statement. Robinson was 86.
Robinson avoided the limelight, yet she was there for some of the most publicized occasions involving the Obama family. She frequently made an appearance at events or holidays with the first couple and their two kids, Sasha and Malia.
She is well known for being photographed clutching her son-in-law Barack Obama’s hand on election night in 2008 as the two of them reclined on a couch and watched the results roll in. Obama became the first Black president of the United States.
“At every step, as our families went down paths none of us could have predicted, she remained our refuge from the storm, keeping our feet on solid ground,” the statement read.
Born in 1937, Robinson grew up as one of seven children on Chicago’s South Side before pursuing her teacher’s degree and finding employment as a secretary.
Michelle Obama and her brother Craig Robinson, who were both reared on the South Side, were the couple’s two children after she married Fraser Robinson in 1960.
Fraser Robinson fought multiple sclerosis for a long time before passing away in 1991.
According to her family’s statement, Marian Robinson was never a good fit for the glitz and trappings of the White House.
She liked to spend her time upstairs with a TV tray in a room close to her bedroom with large windows overlooking the Washington Monument, the statement stated, rather than mingling with White House VIP guests.
She liked to slip out of the White House to do quick errands, like stop by the pharmacy.
In the Obamas’ eight years at the White House from 2009 to 2017, “the only guest she made a point of asking to meet was the Pope,” her family said.
Robinson is survived by both her children, their spouses and six grandchildren.
“She passed peacefully this morning, and right now, none of us are quite sure how exactly we’ll move on without her,” the statement said.
