Obama's Grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, Passes Away at 86

When Barack Obama stepped away from his campaign in late October to visit his seriously ill grandmother in Hawaii, I read everything I could about the woman who was largely responsible for raising the Democratic presidential candidate during his formative years.

He's mentioned her many times, most notably in his March 18, 2008 speech about race.

I learned about the willful independence that led her to secretly marry a man her strict family would never have approved of, just weeks before her high school graduation. Her fierce determination to battle sexism and discrimination as she worked her way up the ladder at one of the top banks in Hawaii. And how she broke ground as one of the Bank of Hawaii's first female vice presidents.

Today we learned that Madelyn Payne Dunham passed away at 5 am ET, just hours before Election Day and what is anticipated to be a groundbreaking victory for the grandson she sacrificed so much for.

Related articles:

• Biography of Madelyn Payne Dunham, Barack Obama's Grandmother
• The Woman Who Raised Barack Obama