Former US President, Barack Obama has penned a tribute to celebrate the times and legacies of mother-in-law, Marian Robinson.
PUNCH Online earlier reported the deceased’s daughter announced her death late Friday night.
She passed away at the age of 86.
Meanwhile, Barack Obama, via his Medium account, also shared a statement to reflect on the deceased life and times and legacy.
Posted late Friday night, it was titled, “Statement on the Passing of Mrs. Marian Robinson from Barack and Michelle Obama, Craig and Kelly Robinson, and their children.”
Obama described the deceased as a mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother, who became a steady and loving rock for her family.
“Marian Lois Shields Robinson — 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.
She grew up one of seven children on the red-lined South Side of Chicago, the daughter of Purnell Shields and Rebecca Jumper. When she was a teenager, her parents separated and her mother supported herself as a nursing aide.
As a young woman, she studied to become a teacher before working as a secretary. She fell quickly and madly in love with Fraser Robinson, another South Sider with a boxer’s strength and jazz-lover’s cool. Together, they raised two children, Craig and Michelle, 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, sitting together as they sounded out words on a page, giving them the strength and confidence to walk to school — and out into the world — all on their own,” it partly read.
The statement noted that on US election night in 2008, when the news broke that Barack would soon shoulder the weight of the world, she was there, holding his hand.
“With a healthy nudge, she agreed to move to the White House with Michelle and Barack. We needed her. The girls needed her. And she ended up being our rock through it all.
“She relished her role as a grandmother to Malia and Sasha — just as she doted on Avery, Leslie, Austin, and Aaron. Less encumbered by the responsibilities of motherhood, she’d indulge in a little more fun and games while keeping any danger of spoiling her grandchildren safely at bay.
“After the White House, she returned to Chicago, reconnecting with longtime friends, trading wisecracks, travelling, and enjoying a good glass of wine. She passed peacefully this morning, and right now, none of us are quite sure how exactly we’ll move on without her,” it read further.
Acknowledging her calmness and support through it all, the former US president wrote, “As a mother, she was our backstop, a calm and nonjudgmental witness to our 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.
“For Barack and Kelly, she was the best mother-in-law anyone could hope for. We would tease her sometimes that she’d need” to stop thinking that she was “imposing” on us because we always wanted to see more of her, not less.
“The whole world is full of little Craigs and little Michelle,” she’d often remind us, underlining the beauty and potential within every child.
