U.S. President Barack Obama was raised by his mother and grandparents Madelyn and Stanley Armour Dunham. In the President's Own Words:

“I was raised by a single mom and my grandparents. My grandfather served in Patton’s Army, and my grandmother worked on a bomber assembly line. They didn't have money, but they gave me love, a thirst for education, and a belief that we're all part of something larger than ourselves.”

In 2008 Madelyn Dunham died at age 86 after a battle with cancer. Madelyn died on November 2, 2008, the day before Barack Obama's election as President.

"She died peacefully in her sleep with my sister at her side, so there’s great joy instead of tears," said Barack Obama.

Obama recapped his grandmother's life from her birth in 1922 and her marriage to his grandfather, their struggles through the Great Depression and with their daughter - his mother - through World War II.

"She was somebody who was a very humble person and a very plain-spoken person,'' he said.

"She was one of those quiet heroes that we have all across America. They're not famous. Their names aren't in the newspapers,'' Obama said

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