Madelyn Dunham Is Obama’s Grandmother

Barack Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, is seriously ill and Obama plans to suspend his campaign to be by her side in Hawaii.Dunham, Obama’s maternal grandmother, was born Madelyn Payne in Peru, Kansas, in 1922. She married Stanley Armour Dunham in 1940. Madelyn attended college at the University of Washington before becoming an aircraft inspector for Boeing during World War II.

After the war, she attended UC-Berkeley, worked various jobs, then came to the Islands, where she joined the Bank of Hawaii in 1960, and became one of the bank’s first female vice presidents.85-year-old Dunham helped raise Obama and has been “one of the most important people in his life,” according to Robert Gibbs, one of the senator’s top aides.

Although the nature of her illness was not disclosed, Gibbs told reporters, “in the last few weeks her health has deteriorated to the point where her situation is very serious. It is for that reason that Senator Obama has decided to change his schedule on Thursday and Friday so that he can see her and spend some time with her.”

After a morning event in Indianapolis on Thursday, Obama will head to Honolulu, canceling events planned for Madison, Wisconsin and Des Moines, Iowa.Michelle Obama will campaign in her husband’s place in Akron and Columbus, Ohio on Friday, and Obama will campaign in the West upon his return from Hawaii.