Obituaries

Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, 86, has died of cancer:

Madelyn Dunham died between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Hawaii time, with Obama's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, at her side. Media outlets reported that Obama learned of the death shortly after 8 a.m. today in Jacksonville, Fla., which would be soon after 3 a.m., Hawaii time.

Dunham — whom Obama called "Toot," after the Hawaiian word tutu, or grandparent — turned 86 on Oct. 26. Her birthday occurred just after Obama abruptly changed his campaign plans to make a 22-hour trip to visit Dunham in Honolulu.

Before his visit, Dunham had already voted for her grandson in early absentee voting.

"It's very, very sad, because we all hoped that she would be able to sustain her strength through election day itself," said U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, (D-Hawaii), a family friend. "She passed away confident that he would succeed. ... Maya and Barack want to assure everyone that she died peacefully knowing what the situation was and content that she had given everything to him. His strength, his calm demeanor that characterized him in these last weeks and last days — this quiet strength that come across so clearly — that comes from his grandmother, there's no question about that. It's her great legacy."

There are no immediate plans for a funeral, but it will probably be a private gathering in Honolulu that Obama would attend, Abercrombie said.