(WASHINGTON) — Marian Robinson, former first lady Michelle Obama’s mother, died on Friday at the age of 86, according to the family.
Robinson was a fixture in the Obama White House and resided there during his tenure to help watch over the first couple’s daughters, Sasha and Malia.
Michelle Obama said in a post on X that her mother “was the same steady backstop for our entire family.”
“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,” the family said in a statement.
Born and raised in the South Side of Chicago, Marian Lois Shields would go on to study teaching before getting a job as a secretary. She married Fraiser Robinson in 1960 and the couple had two children, a son Craig in 1962 and a daughter Michelle in 1964.
The family said that Robinson was very encouraging to her daughter when she “married a guy crazy enough to go into politics.”
“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. On Election Night in 2008, when the news broke that Barack would soon shoulder the weight of the world, she was there, holding his hand,” the family said.
When the Obamas moved into the White House, Robinson agreed to move in after “a healthy nudge,” to help raise the first couple’s girls.
“‘Just show me how to work the washing machine and I’m good,’ she’d say,” the family said.
The family noted that Robinson tended to prefer to stay upstairs and not hobnob with the guests that frequented the White House, with one exception: Pope Francis.
“Over those eight years, she made great friends with the ushers and butlers, the folks who make the White House a home. She’d often sneak outside the gates to buy greeting cards at CVS, and sometimes another customer might recognize her. ‘You look like Michelle’s mother,’ they’d say. She’d smile and reply, ‘Oh, I get that a lot,'” the family said.
Robinson returned to Chicago after Obama’s second term ended and remained active in the family’s life.
Three weeks ago Michelle Obama posted a photo of her and her mother on her Instagram page celebrating Mother’s Day.
The cause of her death was not immediately revealed.
Robinson was survived by her children, her son and daughter-in-law and six grandchildren.
“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,” the family said in a statement.
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