Michelle Obama has been left "heartbroken" following the death of her mother.
The former, First Lady of the United States - who is married to former President Barack Obama and has Malia, 25, and 22-year-old Sasha with him - announced on Friday (31.05.24) evening that Marian Robinson had died at the age of 86.
She wrote on X: "My mom Marian Robinson was my rock, always there for whatever I needed. She was the same steady backstop for our entire family, and we are heartbroken to share she passed away today. We wanted to offer some reflections on her remarkable life."
Marian- who was married to husband Frasier Robinson until his death in 1991 at the age of 55 - also had son Craig, 62, and had spent most of her life in her hometown of Chicago as a stay-at-home mother but agreed to come to Washington after her son-in-law was elected as President in 2008.
In a statement, the Obamas noted that "countless lives" had benefitted from Marian's presence but are taking comfort in the notion that she will be reunited with her late husband in the afterlife.
The statement read: "And as a sister, aunt, cousin, neighbour, and friend to so many, she was beloved beyond words by countless others whose lives were improved by her presence.
"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.
"Yet we are comforted by the understanding that she has returned to the embrace of her loving Fraser, that she’s pulled up her TV tray next to his recliner, that they’re clinking their highball glasses as she’s catching him up with the stories about this wild, beautiful ride. She’s missed him so.
"The whole world is full of little Craigs and little Michelles,” she’d often remind us, underlining the beauty and potential within every child.
"As always, she was right. What is also true — although she adamantly denied it — is that there was and will be only one Marian Robinson. 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.
