Marian Robinson, the mother of former first lady Michelle Obama, has passed away. She was 86 years old.
Marian Robinson is preceded in death by Michelle Obama’s father, Fraser C. Robinson III, who died in March 1991 at the age of 55.
In a statement, the Obama and Robinson families reflected on Marian’s life. “Our mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother – had a way of summing up the truths about life in a word or two, maybe a quick phrase that made everyone around her stop and think.”
“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.”
Marian Robinson’s loved ones then shared some of her best phrases. “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” “Know what’s truly precious,” “As a parent, you’re not raising babies – you’re raising little people,” “Don’t worry about whether anybody else likes you. Come home. We’ll always like you here.”
The families then shared how Robinson grew up as one of seven children on the red-lined South Side of Chicago. She was the daughter of Purnell Shields and Rebecca Jumper.
When she was 13 years old, her parents separated. Her mother supported herself by working as a nursing aid. Her father was unable to join a union. This was due to the color of his skin. He grew mistrustful of a world that seemed to have little place for him.
“Yet many mornings, he would wake the kids up at sunrise by blasting jazz records as an alarm clock,” the statement continued. “She learned early that even in the face of hardship, there was music to be found.”
Michelle Obama’s Mother Marian Robinson Led By Example
After studying to become a teacher before working as a secretary, Marian Robinson met Michelle Obama’s father Fraser, who was described as another “South-Sider with a boxer’s strength and jazz-lover’s cool.”
Together the couple then raised Michelle Obama and her brother Craig in a tiny upstairs apartment on Euclid Avenue in South Shore.
“She volunteered for the PTA and taught her children to read at an early age,” Marian Robinson’s family shared. “Sitting together as they sounded words on a page, giving them the strength and confidence to walk to school – and out into the world – all on their own.”
The family also recalled Robinson calling out a police officer who accused Craig of stealing a bike. She demanded the man apologize to Craig for his misjudgment. Robinson seemingly kept her strong will and dedication to her family.
During Michelle and Barack Obama’s years at the White House, Marian Robinson lived with them. She wanted to be with the couple and help their daughters, Sasha and Malia. “We needed her. The girls needed her. And she ended up being our rock through it all.”
The family further stated that as a mother, Marian was the “backstop, a calm and nonjudgmental witness” to her children’s triumphs and stumbles. “She was always, always there, welcoming us back home no matter how far we had journeyed, with that deep and abiding love.”
The family then added, “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.”