Michelle and Barack Obama lead tributes to her late mom: ‘There will only be one Marian Robinson’
Michelle and Barack Obama led a chorus of politicians and celebrities in paying tribute to her late mother, Marian Robinson.
Ms Robinson, known as the “first grandma” during former president Obama’s time in office, died on Friday at the age of 86, according to a statement from her family.
“My mom Marian Robinson was my rock, always there for whatever I needed,” wrote Michelle Obama on Friday evening. “She was the same steady backstop for our entire family, and we are heartbroken to share she passed away today.”
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: https://t.co/F7T6q625PC
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) May 31, 2024
Barack Obama also 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.”
A statement posted by the Obamas described how she had supported them through the turbulent years of his rise to power, and had taken some “nudging” to leave Chicago and move in with them when he became president.
“The trappings and glamour of the White House were never a great fit for Marian Robinson,” the couple wrote. “’Just show me how to work the washing machine and I’m good,‘ she’d say.’”
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. https://t.co/2gH0DPQYVb
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 31, 2024
Tennis champion star and LGBT+ pioneer Billie Jean King expressed her “deepest condolences”, recalling a happy time she had spent with Ms Robinson during the US Open tennis competition in 2013.
Comedian and TV host Loni Love also paid tribute, calling her “always classy, kind, and beautiful”, while Oscars diversity activist April Reign posted: “RIP”.
Viola Davis, the actress and film producer known for her starring roles in 2011's The Help and the ABC TV show How to Get Away With Murder, wrote on Instagram: “What a quiet, powerful force you were.
“Your legacy is in what you planted: your belief that the children you bring into the world are already who they’re meant to be. Rest well, Mrs Robinson. ‘May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest’.”
Other tributes came from New York congressman Adriano Espaillat, political strategist Shermichael Singleton, and Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson.
The Obamas statement went on to explain her sense of humor during her eight years with them in the White House.
“Rather than hobnobbing with Oscar winners or Nobel laureates, she preferred spending her time upstairs with a TV tray, in the room outside her bedroom with big windows that looked out at the Washington Monument. The only guest she made a point of asking to meet was the Pope.
“Over those eight years, she made great friends with the ushers and butlers, the folks who make the White House a home. She’d often sneak outside the gates to buy greeting cards at CVS, and sometimes another customer might recognize her. ‘You look like Michelle’s mother,’ they’d say. She’d smile and reply, ‘Oh, I get that a lot.’”
After the end of Mr Obama’s presidency in 2017, Ms Robinson moved back to Chicago and spent time travelling and “reconnecting with longtime friends”.
The statement said that she died peacefully.
