Michelle Obama ‘heartbroken’ after mother Marian Robinson dies aged 86
Michelle Obama’s mother died at the age of 86 yesterday, her family have confirmed.
Marian Robinson moved into the White House and helped care for her young granddaughters during Barack Obama’s terms as president from 2008 to 2016.
She was present for some of the Obama family’s most visible moments, often appearing at holiday celebrations or other events alongside the first couple and their two daughters, Sasha and Malia.
Her family said in a statement yesterday: ‘There was and will be only one Marian Robinson. In our sadness, we are lifted up by the extraordinary gift of her life.
‘We needed her. The girls needed her. And she ended up being our rock through it all.
‘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 trappings and glamour of the White House were never a great fit for Marian Robinson.
‘She passed peacefully this morning, and right now, none of us are quite sure how exactly we’ll move on without her.’
At the White House, Mrs. Robinson provided a reassuring presence for the girls as their parents settled into their new roles, and her lack of Secret Service protection made it possible for her to accompany them to and from school daily without fanfare.
Robinson was born in 1937 and grew up on the South Side of Chicago, one of seven children, before studying to become a teacher and working as a secretary.
She married her husband, Fraser Robinson, in 1960, and the couple had two children, Michelle Obama and her brother Craig Robinson, both of whom were also raised on the South Side.
Rather than socializing with White House VIP guests, she preferred to spend her time upstairs with a TV tray, in a room near her bedroom with enormous windows overlooking the Washington Monument, the statement said.
She enjoyed sneaking out of the White House to run errands, such as popping to the drug store.
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.
‘I would not be who I am today without the steady hand and unconditional love of my mother, Marian Shields Robinson,’ Michelle Obama wrote in her 2018 memoir, Becoming.
‘She has always been my rock, allowing me the freedom to be who I am, while never allowing my feet to get too far off the ground.
‘Her boundless love for my girls, and her willingness to put our needs before her own, gave me the comfort and confidence to venture out into the world knowing they were safe and cherished at home.’
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