The 88-year-old mother of ABC’s “Good Morning America” host Robin Roberts died on Thursday, the same day that Roberts earlier bid farewell to her colleagues as she began medical leave for a bone marrow transplant.
Her mother’s illness was one of the reasons Roberts left the show early,
People magazine reported.
"Robin did make it [home to Mississippi], to say goodbye," GMA co-anchor George Stephanopoulos announced on Friday's program. Roberts and her sister forged through flooded and blocked streets to be with their mother in time, according to People
Her mother, Lucimarian Tolliver Roberts, "was the first African American to head Mississippi's Board of Education. She loved the written word and the poetry and joy of song. She even recorded a CD of hymns for her family as a gift last year," according to a note distributed to ABC staff members.
Roberts revealed earlier this summer that she had been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare blood disorder that affects bone marrow, a condition likely caused by complications with her treatment for breast cancer five years ago, according to the Washington Post.
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