Sandra Pressley, mother of City Councillor At-Large Ayanna Pressley, passed away Friday morning of complications from leukemia. She was 63.

In a 2009 interview with the Boston Globe, when Pressley, an Ashmont resident who was running for City Council for the first time, said, “My mother informed me that the way to be a change agent to create change, the first line of defense, or however you want to phrase that, is politics and government."

In a statement on her Facebook wall around noon Friday, Councillor Pressley's staff wrote: "At 10 AM this morning, Mama Pressley passed away quietly and peacefully, with Ayanna holding her hand. Ayanna thanks you for your prayers and support. Ayanna would like anyone who wishes to share a special memory of her mom or a photo to email mamap@ayannapressley.com. Sandra Pressley was 63 and much loved by her friends and family in Chicago, New York City and Boston."