Marian Shields Robinson, former first lady Michelle Obama’s mom, has passed away at the age of 86.
The Robinson family said that she passed away peacefully in the morning, and at the moment, none of them is really sure how they’ll go on without her.
Born in 1937, Robinson spent her formative years on the South Side of Chicago. With Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009, the Chicago native uprooted her life and relocated to Washington, D.C.
Since Robinson was accustomed to doing things on her own, she described moving into the White House as a “huge adjustment” in past interviews. She claimed she had to persuade the White House housekeepers to let her do her laundry.
The family stated on Friday that Marian maintained an attitude of humility throughout her life.
Michelle Obama is quite open about how much she loved her mom. On Mother’s Day, the former first lady took to social media to announce that an exhibit at Chicago’s Obama Presidential Center Museum will be devoted to Robinson.
Even though the White House press never asked Mrs. Robinson for an interview, she did grant some on occasion. Because her aides watched over her every move, she was able to maintain an air of secrecy. This gave her the freedom to go wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted, from the White House to the Kennedy Center president’s box in Las Vegas or even to see her other grandkids in Portland, Oregon.
She attended concerts, the annual Easter Egg Roll, the lighting of the National Christmas Tree, and state banquets at the White House.
Moving into a room on the third floor, one level above the first family, also opened up the world to Mrs. Robinson, who had been a widow for over 20 years. Before relocating to Washington, DC, she had never left the country.
In 2009, during the Obamas’ visit to France, she made her first overseas travel on Air Force One. Later that year, she went to Russia, Italy, and Ghana.
While in Italy, she saw Pope Benedict toured the historic Colosseum in Rome.
In 2011, she traveled to South Africa and Botswana with her daughter and granddaughters, and in 2014, she traveled to China.
Marian was the seventh of seven children. She went to college for two years to become a teacher, got married in 1960, and always hammered home the value of a good education.
