Michelle Obama’s Mother Passes Away At 86

by Mary Spiller

June 1, 2024

Marian Robinson died on May 31.

The mother of former first lady Michelle Obama, Marian Robinson has died at 86 years old. Robinson died on May 31, according NBC News.

“She passed peacefully this morning, and right now, none of us are quite sure how exactly we’ll move on without her,” a statement from the family read. 

Following the release of the news, Michelle Obama shared a heartfelt message on X beloved in remembrance of her mother.

She wrote, “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 that she passed away today. We wanted to offer some reflections on her remarkable life.”

Some of the reflections recalled how Robinson left her hometown of Chicago to support her daughter after she moved into the White House with former and first Black President Barack Obama following his 2008 election win.

Michelle said, “We needed her. The girls needed her. And she ended up being our rock through it all.” 

She continued, “She relished her role as a grandmother. … And although she enforced whatever household rules we’d set for bedtime, watching TV, or eating candy, she made clear that she sided with her ‘grandbabies’ in thinking that their parents were too darn strict.”

The Obama family, including Barack and Michelle, as well as Michelle’s brother, Craig Robinson, and his wife, Kelly, and Marian Robinson’s grandchildren, Avery, Leslie, Malia, Sasha, Austin, and Aaron issued a joint statement that said, “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.”

Barack also expressed his emotional condolences on Robinson’s passing in a tweet.

“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,” the former president said.

Michelle has often talked about the strong childhood and lessons given to her by both of her parents.  

The Princeton University and Harvard Law School graduate said, “We were poor. We lived in a small house, but what they gave us was a feeling of importance, a belief that our voices mattered at a very young age, a sense of understanding, of pushing through, and resilience.”

“And what that does for a kid – when your parents trust you, it encourages you. It tells you that if my mom thinks I can do this, that I must be capable.”

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