Roberta McCain, the mother of the late Senator John McCain, has died. Roberta was 108 years old.
John's widow, Cindy McCain, announced her mother-in-law's death on Twitter. She also shared the news on Instagram, along with a photo of Roberta and John. "Roberta McCain, 108 yrs of age, was beautiful, smart as a whip, gracious and the best Mother In-law anyone could ask for," she wrote. "I will miss her terribly. But now she is reunited with her husband Jack, her son John and her daughter Sandy. That's a heck of a reunion! I love you Roberta!"
Not only did Roberta live a long, full life, but she was also grateful for everything in it. She once told Vogue, "Honey, I've had a dream life, and it was all luck."
Roberta was close with her family, often traveling with John when he was on the campaign trail in 2008 when he ran as the Republican nominee for president. She didn't talk much to reporters, but she did talk to voters. Roberta was also extremely close to her grandchildren, including View cohost Meghan McCain.
The entire McCain family is grieving the loss of Roberta McCain, the late John McCain's mother. Roberta lived a long life and made a big impact on her family, whom she was incredibly close with. It's clear that her death is being deeply felt.
Both John's widow, Cindy, and his daughter Meghan shared sweet words about the matriarch.
Meghan shared a lengthy note on Instagram about her grandmother. "I love you Nana," she wrote. "You're everything I ever aspired to be in this world. Thank you for teaching us all about living life on your own terms with grit, conviction, intensity and love. There will never, ever be another one like you and you will be missed every day. I only wish my daughter had gotten to meet you. Have a drink with Dad for me…"
Meghan has often been open about the loss of her father, which hit her hard. She recently shared that becoming a mother has been helping her cope with the loss. Now Meghan is grieving her grandmother, too.
Katie Couric reached out to Meghan on Instagram, leaving a lovely comment about her encounter with Roberta. "I had the pleasure of interviewing your Nana with your dad in 2008. They were so sweet together," she wrote. "Sending you love and sympathy on this sad day. She was a real pistol and so beautiful. I'm posting it later if you want to take a look. ❤️."
Roberta was an interesting woman, that's for sure. She was born in February of 1912 and attended the University of Southern California. It was there that she met John's father, Navy officer John "Jack" McCain Jr.
Roberta was the daughter of an oil tycoon. When her strict family disapproved of the match, she didn't let that stop her from marrying him. Instead of having a big wedding, they took off — eloping in Tijuana. "A sailor has a girl in every port. I think she heard that," she said of her mother's reaction to her marriage to John McCain's father.
John and Roberta had three children together. She spoke to C-SPAN about learning that the plane son John was in had been shot down when he was serving in Vietnam in 1967. She said she was sure he was dead. "Reality is reality," she said.
John was alive, however. He had been taken as a prisoner and was held for five and a half years. He was tortured and spent two years in solitary confinement. Finally, he made it back to the US, but he had sustained injuries that affected his mobility.
After Roberta's husband died, she and her sister began traveling the world. John told CBS Evening News that his mother knew just about every museum and church in Europe by heart. "She has really enriched her life by studying, reading, and travel. And I'm proud. And she still does it," he said with admiration.
Roberta McCain certainly made the most out of her life, and she was grateful for every second of it. In the interview, she fired back, "Do you want me to sit around and play bridge every day? Or discuss my last knee replacement? Or pass around pictures of my grandchildren? Well, that isn't my choice of a way to live. I love to. That's one reason I live in Washington is art museums are open seven days a week, and they're all free, and you can't say that about another city in the world."
