Alma Powell, civic leader and wife of the late former Secretary of State Colin Powell, passed away at 86.

Peggy Cifrino, the family spokesperson, confirmed her death on Sunday.

“(Powell) was the grounding force of our family,” the couple’s three children, Michael, Linda and Annemarie, said in a statement, according to CNN.

“During childhoods marked by constant moving to new homes, we always felt secure, because home was wherever she stood. She was an exemplary role model for us and for the world. She served our country, alongside our father, with intelligence and grace. We will miss her terribly but take comfort in the fact that she had a life so well-lived and is reunited with our father,” the children also said.