Marian Robinson, the mother of the former United States First Lady, Michelle Obama, has passed away at the age of 86.
The Obama family shared the news of her passing on Friday. Michelle disclosed her mother’s death in a statement on X on Friday, expressing how her mother was her pillar of strength and was always by her side.
Michelle 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 she passed away today.
We wanted to offer some reflections on her remarkable life”.
Marian Robinson, whose maiden name was Shields, was born on July 29, 1937. She was the mother of Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, who is a basketball executive. Additionally, she was the mother-in-law of the 44th U.S. President, Barack Obama.
Shields tied the knot with Fraser Robinson III on October 27, 1960, in Chicago. They had two children together, Craig Malcolm and Michelle LaVaughn, named after Fraser’s mother. Fraser sadly passed away from multiple sclerosis in 1991.
Robinson worked as a secretary for Spiegel, a mail-order retailer, the University of Chicago, and a bank. In the late 1960s, Shields and her family resided in a rented second-floor apartment in a brick bungalow on the South Side of Chicago, which belonged to her aunt Robbie and her husband Terry.
This is where she raised her two kids, Michelle and Craig, and stayed until she moved to the White House with the Obamas.
In her book “Becoming,” Michelle Obama talked about her mother’s deep connection to their Chicago home and her dedication to being a stay-at-home mom to raise her children. Shields returned to work as an executive assistant at a bank when her daughter Michelle began high school.
