Landov

On what should have been one of the most exciting days of his life -- the eve of the election that would sweep him into office as the next president of the United States -- Barack Obama was faced with devastating news: His beloved grandmother died on Nov. 3 at the age of 86.
"It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer," Obama said in a joint statement with his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, 38. "She was the cornerstone of our family and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength and humility."
Obama, 47, had left the campaign trail on Oct. 23 to visit his ailing grandmother in Honolulu, where he was born.

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