Toot

I was really hoping that she'd make it through election day. Nonetheless, I'm sure she died extremely proud of her grandson.

Sen. Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died following a bout with cancer, Obama and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, said Monday.

She was 86.

At a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, Monday night, the Illinois senator said "she has gone home and she died peacefully in her sleep with my sister at her side."

"I'm not going to talk about it long because it's hard to talk about," he added.

Obama remembered her as "one of those quiet heroes we have across America, who aren't famous ... but each and every day they work hard. They look after their families. They look after their children and their grandchildren."

I lost my last grandparent, my maternal grandmother, just a few weeks ago. From what I understand, Senator Obama's grandparents took a much more active role in raising him than my grandparents were able to (mainly due to the vagaries of geography). My sincere condolences to him and his family.