Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, has died at the age of 86.
Her family disclosed this in a statement released Friday, May 31.
“She passed peacefully this morning, and right now, none of us are quite sure how exactly we’ll move on without her,” the family statement said.
The family statement is from Michelle and Barack Obama; Craig Robinson and his wife, Kelly; and Marian Robinson’s grandchildren, Avery, Leslie, Malia, Sasha, Austin and Aaron.
Robinson became known to Americans as the country’s first grandmother after her son-in-law, Barack Obama, won the 2008 presidential election. She was a fixture in the White House during his eight years in office, though she kept a low profile. She attended holiday events, the occasional overseas trip and concerts in the East Room. But most often she was with her granddaughters, Sasha and Malia.
See the full statement released by her family below.