Getty Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter.
Rosalynn Carter, former President Jimmy Carter’s wife of more than 76 years, died at age 96 on November 19, 2023. Theirs was one of the most enduring marriages in political history.
First Lady Rosalynn Carter’s death was confirmed by the Carter Center, which wrote, “Widely recognized as a leading advocate for mental health and caregiving, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter was actively devoted to building a more caring society. Learn more about her lifetime of service that has made a difference in the lives of so many.”
Jimmy Carter has been in hospice care for months.
“After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention,” a statement from the Carter Center read on February 18, 2022.
“He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers.”
In August 2022, the couple made a rare appearance together for her 95th birthday, at a dedication ceremony “during the inaugural Butterfly Daze weekend at the new Rosalynn Smith Carter Childhood Garden in Plains, Georgia,” according to Fox5 Atlanta. They isolated during the pandemic and were seen in public less frequently in recent years, the television station reported.
Here’s what you need to know:
Rosalynn & Jimmy Carter Are ‘at Peace’ & Their ‘Home Is Full of Love,’ Their Grandson Says
Jason Carter, the Carters’ grandson, tweeted after news that Jimmy Carter was receiving hospice care, “I saw both of my grandparents yesterday. They are at peace and—as always—their home is full of love. Thank you all for your kind words.”
In 2021, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter discussed their long marriage and told ABC News that the pandemic brought them closer.
“We have hardly left our house,” Jimmy Carter told ABC. “Before that we had not been together all that much — ordinary family travel and so forth.”
“It was just Jimmy and me,” Rosalynn Carter said to ABC. “And it was really wonderful.”
GettyFormer President and First Lady Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter at the 2004 Democratic National Convention
According to ABC News, the Carters grew up together in Plains, Georgia, and Rosalynn was friends with Jimmy Carter’s sister, Ruth.
Jimmy Carter told ABC that he knew Rosalynn was the one right after their first date, saying that he told his mother, “That was the girl I wanted to marry.”
The former president told ABC, of the marriage, “It was happy and joyful and obviously long-lasting. Rose did say OK finally, and staying with me all this long has been the most wonderful thing in my life.”
“We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter said to Fox 5 Atlanta. “I knew more on paper about the business than he did. He would take my advice about things.”
According to the Jimmy Carter Library, Rosalynn Smith Carter was born in Plains, Georgia, on August 18, 1927, to Edgar and Allie (Murray) Smith.
GettyJune 1980: American statesman Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, with his wife Rosalynn and daughter Amy at the Forum in Rome.
She married Jimmy Carter on July 7, 1946, and they had four children together: John William, 1947; James Earl III, 1950; Donnel Jeffrey, 1952; Amy Lynn, 1967. They also have 12 grandchildren (one deceased) and 14 great grandchildren, according to the Jimmy Carter Library.
The Carters live today in Plains, Georgia.
Since Leaving the White House, Rosalynn Carter Has Worked on Mental Health Issues, Helped Run the Carters’ Foundation & Authored Books
GettyJimmy and Rosalynn smooch it up in Plains in 2002.
Since she was First Lady, Rosalynn Carter has stayed involved in public policy.
According to the Carter Center, a nonprofit institution founded by the Carters in 1982, Rosalynn Carter “has worked for more than five decades to improve the quality of life for people around the world. Today, she is a leading advocate for mental health, caregiving, early childhood immunization, human rights, and conflict resolution through her work at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia.”
The Carter Center says that Rosalynn is “a full partner with the president in all the Center’s activities,” serving on the Board of Trustees.
Rosalynn Carter “created and chairs the Carter Center’s Mental Health Task Force, an advisory body of experts, consumers, and advocates promoting positive change in the mental health field,” the Center says. “She brings together leaders of the nation’s mental health organizations to address critical issues.”
Mental health has been a top issue of concern for Rosalynn Carter, the Carter Center says.
“She served on the Policy Advisory Board of The Atlanta Project (TAP), a program of The Carter Center addressing the social ills associated with poverty and quality of life citywide, from the program’s inception in 1991 until its transfer to Georgia State University in 1999,” it reads.
Outside the center, Rosalynn Carter “is president of the board of directors for the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers (RCI), which was established in her honor on the campus of her alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University, in Americus, Georgia,” the Carter Center says.
She has also championed vaccination as far back as 1991, has received many prestigious honors, and written five books, according to The Carter Center.
READ NEXT: Jimmy Carter Receiving Hospice Care.