Obama’s grandmother died on Monday Morning (East Coast Time) in Honululu, Hawaii a day shy of the election day.  Madelyn Dunham, who turned 86 on Oct. 26, was unable to travel to see her grandson on the campaign trail. But from her apartment in Honolulu, she followed his bid for the presidency, tracking his movements and his progression through cable television.

more photos after the sadness…

Obama’s grandmother was a a central figure in his life who helped raise him during his teen-age years. Obama learned of his grandmother’s death a little after 8 a.m. in Jacksonville, Florida where he had spent the evening.  His grandmother, Dunham died late Sunday evening on Hawaii Standard Time, which was between 4 and 5 a.m. on the East Coast.

“It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances.” as reports by The Caucus

Last month, Obama took a break from campaigning and flew to Hawaii to be with Dunham as her health deteriorated.

Dunham rose from a secretarial job at the Bank of Hawaii to become one of the state’s first female bank vice presidents.

The Kansas-born Dunham and her husband, Stanley, raised their grandson for several years until he graduated from high school in 1979 in Honolulu while their daughter and her second husband were living in Indonesia – as reports by The Seattle Times

Obama posing with his maternal grandparents Stanley and Madelyn Dunham in an undated family snapshot released by his Democratic campaign

 photos: Reuters

May she rest in peace.