Marian Robinson, mother-in-law of former President Barack Obama, died Friday at the age of 86, family said.
Robinson was a fixture in the Obama White House and lived there during his tenure to help care for the first couple’s daughters, Sasha and Malia.
Michelle Obama a Post on X His mother “was the one constant background for our whole family.”
“Her wisdom was almost innate, but really hard-earned, shaped by a deep understanding that the world’s rough edges can always be sanded down with a little grace,” the family said. A statement.
Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Marion Lois Shields studied teaching before taking a job as a secretary. She married Fraser Robinson in 1960 and the couple had two children, a son Craig in 1962 and a daughter Michelle in 1964.
During an interview with Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America” in 2022, Michelle Obama and Robinson talked about their growing strong bond.
“Come back, you’ll have a little kitchen table…everybody will come over…you eat with your kids. BB and J, no peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?”
“She is. The others don’t have BB and J and she refuses to eat anything else for breakfast,” Robinson joked.
“Okay, okay, don’t tell them all my secrets,” Michelle Obama replied.
The family said Robinson was a great inspiration to her daughter when she “married someone crazy enough to go into politics.”
“Every step of the way, as our families took a path none of us could have predicted, she was our refuge from the storm, keeping our feet on solid ground. On election night 2008, the news broke that Barack would soon bear weight. In the world, she was there, holding his hand. She held on,” the family said.
When the Obamas moved into the White House, Robinson agreed to go after a “healthy nudge” to help raise the first couple’s daughters.
“She’d say, ‘Show me how to work the washing machine, and I’m good,'” the family said.
The family noted that Robinson prefers to stay upstairs rather than hop-on-hop with the White House’s frequent guests, with one exception: Pope Francis.
“During those eight years, she made great friends with the people and butlers who make the White House a home. She would often sneak outside the gates to buy greeting cards at CVS, and sometimes another customer would recognize her. They’d say, ‘You look like Michelle’s mother,'” she says, laughing. , would say, ‘Oh, I get a lot of that.’
After Obama’s second term ended, Robinson returned to Chicago and remained active in family life.
Three weeks ago, Michelle Obama posted a photo of herself and her mother on her Instagram page to celebrate Mother’s Day.
Her cause of death was not immediately known.
Robinson is survived by his children, his son and daughter-in-law, and six grandchildren.
“In our sadness, we are uplifted by the extraordinary gift of his life. We will spend the rest of our lives trying to live up to his example,” the family said in a statement.
