Roberta McCain, mother of late U.S. Sen. John McCain, died Monday at the age of 108, at her home in Washington, D.C., family members announced. “I couldn’t have asked for a better role model or a better friend,” daughter-in-law Cindy McCain, widow of Sen. McCain, tweeted.
Roberta McCain was an Oklahoma oil heiress and wife and daughter-in-law of two U.S. 4-star Navy Admirals. She campaigned at age 96 for her son’s presidential run against Democrat Barack Obama in 2008. Roberta McCain attended the 2018 Washington, D.C., funeral of her son, Sen. John McCain, who died of cancer at age 81. Roberta met and eloped with Jack McCain, a Navy officer serving aboard a battleship docked in Long Beach.
Sen. John McCain credited his mother’s support with his success in politics including two presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2008, two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, and five Senate terms. Roberta and her husband raised their three children in Washington, D.C. Her husband died in 1981 and her daughter, Jean Alexandra “Sandy” Morgan, died in 2019. Survivors include her son, Joseph McCain of Washington; 10 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and seven great-great-grandchildren.
