Moving into the White House with the first family was Marian Robinson, the mother of former first lady Michelle Obama.

Marian Robinson, the mother of former first lady Michelle Obama, passed away on Friday, according to her family. Marian helped raise her young granddaughters and provided stability in one of the most stressful homes in the world when she moved into the White House with the first family.

“We required her. She was required by the girls. And she turned out to be our pillar of support during it all,” her relatives stated in a statement. Robinson was eighty-six years old.

Robinson avoided the limelight, yet she was there for some of the most publicized occasions involving the Obama family. She frequently attended events and holidays with the first couple and their two children, Sasha and Malia.

She is well known for being seen clutching her son-in-law Barack Obama’s hand on election night in 2008 as the two of them reclined on a couch and watched the results roll in. Obama became the first Black president of the United States.

“At every step, as our families went down paths none of us could have predicted, she remained our refuge from the storm, keeping our feet on solid ground,” said the statement.

Learn more about Marian Robinson.

Born in 1937, Robinson grew up as one of seven children on Chicago’s South Side before pursuing teacher training and finding employment as a secretary.

Michelle Obama and her brother Craig Robinson, who were both reared on the South Side, were the couple’s two children after she married Fraser Robinson in 1960.

Fraser Robinson fought multiple sclerosis for a long time before passing away in 1991.

Marian Robinson was never a good match for the glitz and trappings of the White House, according to her family’s statement.

She liked to spend her time upstairs with a TV tray, in a room next to her bedroom with large windows overlooking the Washington Monument, the statement stated, rather than mingling with White House VIP guests.

She liked to slip out of the White House to do errands, like stop by the pharmacy.

“The only guest she made a point of asking to meet was the Pope,” according to her family, throughout the Obamas’ eight years in the White House, which ran from 2009 to 2017.

Six grandkids, their spouses, and both of Robinson’s children survive her.

“She passed peacefully this morning, and right now, none of us are quite sure how exactly we’ll move on without her,” added the statement.