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Barack Obama Sheds Tear for Beloved Grandmother
Tuesday November 4, 2008

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) wipes away tears as he cries while speaking about his grandmother during a campaign rally at University North Carolina - Charlotte November 3, 2008 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Barack Obama teared up during a rally at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte on Monday as he spoke about his beloved grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who passed away, at age 86 of cancer, on the last day of his campaign.

"Some of you heard that my grandmother who helped raise me passed away this morning. She has gone home," Obama told the hushed crowd. "And she died peacefully in her sleep with my sister at her side. So there is a great joy as well as tears.

"I am not going to talk about it too long because it is hard for me to talk about it," he went on.

Obama suspended his campaign 10 days ago to visit Dunham -- whom he called "Toot" -- in Hawaii. He said he had hoped she would have lived long enough to see him elected.

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"She was one of those quiet heroes that we have all across America," he said of Dunham, who raised him. "They're not famous, their names aren't in the newspapers, but each and every day they work hard. They look after their families. They sacrifice for their children and their grandchildren.

"In this crowd," he went on, "there are a lot of quiet heroes like that."

Republican presidential contender John McCain expressed his sympathy and Obama thanked him for the "incredibly gracious" sentiments.

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