Michelle Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, has died at the age of 86.
The former first lady mourned her “rock” Friday with a note posted to social media on behalf of the Obama family.
“My mom Marian Robinson was my rock, always there for whatever I needed,” Michelle Obama wrote on X. “She was the same steady backstop for our entire family, and we are heartbroken to share she passed away today.”
In a longer tribute on Facebook, Michelle referred to her mother as “a calm and nonjudgmental witness to our triumphs and stumbles” — someone who was “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,” Michelle said.
That same sentiment was shared by the 44th president in a Medium blog post.
“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 memorial reads.
The Obamas remembered Robinson as a woman who grew up with six siblings on “the red-lined South Side of Chicago” and studied to become a teacher before finding work as a secretary.
“With a healthy nudge, she agreed to move to the White House” after Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, the essay says. She wasn’t a fan of the “trappings and glamour” that came with her new home, but she made do.
“In our sadness, we are lifted up by the extraordinary gift of her life,” the Obama family said. “And we will spend the rest of ours trying to live up to her example.”
