Obama 'stoic' on getting news of Dunham's death
By John McCormick
Chicago Tribune
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Aides to U.S. Sen. Barack Obama said he was in his hotel room this morning in Jacksonville, Fla., doing brief interviews with radio stations in battleground states, when he learned the woman he called "Toot," had died in her apartment in Honolulu after a long battle with cancer.
He was described as stoic upon hearing that she had passed and told aides that he was grateful that he had a chance to say goodbye in person when he recently suspended his campaign for two days to return to Hawai'i.
Madelyn Dunham, 86, who had been gravely ill, was a rock of stability as Obama was growing up, giving him the roots that would ground his teenage years as well as his career in politics.
Obama's campaign said she died late Sunday.
The candidate and his campaign had hoped that Dunham would live long enough to see the outcome of the election, a race she had closely followed by television.
Speaking after news of his grandmother's death had been made public, Obama said today that the evening marked a "bittersweet" moment for him.
"She has gone home," he said. "She died peacefully in her sleep with my sister at her side, and so there is great joy as well as tears."
In a rare 2004 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Dunham, who called her grandson 'Bear,' said she and her husband offered their grandson a greater sense of normalcy. "I suppose I provided stability in his life," she said.
"She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength and humility," Obama and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, said in a joint statement released by his campaign. "She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances."
The Obama family thanked those who had sent flowers, gifts and prayers.
"It brought our grandmother and us great comfort," the statement said. "Our grandmother was a private woman, and we will respect her wish for a small private ceremony to be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation to any worthy organization in search of a cure for cancer."
