Cindy McCain wrote in a tweet on Monday, «It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my wonderful Mother In-law, Roberta McCain. I couldn’t have asked for a better role model or a better friend. She joins her husband Jack, her son John and daughter Sandy.»
Details of how Ms McCain died have not yet been released. John McCain, once a Republican presidential nominee and long-term Arizona senator, died in August 2018 following a lengthy battle with brain cancer. Ms McCain, then 106, attended her son’s funeral services in Washington.
Ms McCain’s daughter, Jean «Sandy» McCain, passed away in November 2019 at age 85. The matriarch of the McCain family is survived by her third child, son Joe McCain.
Born Roberta Wright in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Ms McCain was an oil heiress who married US Navy ensign John McCain Jr in 1933. Her husband would go on to become an admiral and one of the Navy’s highest-ranking officers, and the couple would raise three children together — Jean, John, and Joseph.
Ms McCain emerged as a public figure when her son John ran for the Republican presidential nomination for a second time in 2008, becoming a regular presence on the campaign trail. When she attended the 2008 Republican National Convention, her son praised «her love of life, her deep interest in the world, her strength, and her belief we are all meant to use our opportunities to make ourselves useful to our country».
Ms McCain remained active into her 90s, traveling frequently with her twin sister, Rowena, who died at age 99.
In a tribute posted to Twitter, The View co-host Meghan McCain — who recently welcomed a daughter, Liberty — described her grandmother as a role model.
«I love you Nana. You’re everything I ever aspired to be,» she said. «Thank you for teaching us all about living life on your own terms with grit, conviction, intensity and love. There will never be another one like you, you will be missed every day. I wish my daughter had gotten to meet you.»
