"It brought our grandmother and us great comfort. Our grandmother was a private woman, and we will respect her wish for a small private ceremony to be held at a later date," the Illinois senator and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, said in a statement.

The statement described Dunham as "the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances."

Dunham had followed Obama's presidential bid with great interest.

MCCAIN OFFERS PRAYERS

In a statement, McCain and his wife, Cindy, offered prayers for Obama and his family "as they remember and celebrate the life of someone who had such a profound impact in their lives."

"We mourn his loss and we are with him and his family today," McCain later said at a rally in Roswell, New Mexico.

Obama thanked McCain for his comments at the Charlotte rally, saying it was "incredibly gracious" of him. He also toned down the political rhetoric in his speech, giving the Arizona senator credit for breaking with his party on issues like torture.

Obama affectionately called his grandmother "Toot" -- short for "tutu," the Hawaiian word for grandmother.

He spoke of her often on the campaign trail, mentioning that she worked in a bomber assembly plant during World War Two. Later, she worked as a secretary in a bank and was eventually promoted to vice president.

She helped put Obama through private school in Hawaii and Obama has often credited her with instilling in him the Midwestern pragmatism she acquired as a Kansas native.

... contd.