The grandmother of Democratic candidate Barack Obama has died less than twenty four hours before the culminating moment in her grandson’s historic bid for the Presidency of the United States.
Obama flew to Hawaii at the end of October to visit Madelyn Dunham, 85, who helped raise the presidential nominee.
“Without going through the details too much, she’s gravely ill. We weren’t sure and I’m still not sure whether she makes it to Election Day,” Obama told ABC’s “Good Morning America” in an interview before his trip to Hawaii..
In his memoir “Dreams from My Father,” Obama described his grandfather as something of a dreamer. It was his grandmother who was practical enough to support the family by working her way up in the ranks at a local bank.
Obama has often mentioned “Toot” – his version of the Hawaiian word “tutu,” or grandparent – as an example of a strong woman succeeding through intelligence and determination. Many of his speeches describe her working on a bomber assembly line during World War II.
Information from CNN.com and CBS.com contributed to this report.
