Rosalynn Carter, who as first lady worked tirelessly on behalf of mental health reform and professionalized the role of the president’s spouse, died Sunday at the age of 96, according to The Carter Center.
Rosalynn Carter passed away peacefully with family by her side at her home in Plains, Georgia, the center said in a statement.
“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, said. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”
The Carter Center announced Friday that the former first lady had entered hospice care. She was diagnosed with dementia in May. Her husband began home hospice care in February, following a series of hospital stays.
“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” Jimmy Carter said in a statement released Sunday afternoon by the Carter Center.
“She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”
The statement said Mrs Carter “died peacefully, with family by her side” at 2.10pm ET. An online tribute book is open at www.rosalynncartertribute.org.
Chip Carter, the couple’s middle son, said: “Besides being a loving mother and extraordinary first lady, my mother was a great humanitarian in her own right. Her life of service and compassion was an example for all Americans.
“She will be sorely missed not only by our family but by the many people who have better mental health care and access to resources for caregiving today.”
She lived most of her life in Plains, the Carters' hometown, and was deeply engaged in humanitarian work through the Carter Center in Atlanta, an organization she founded with her husband after leaving the White House.
In addition to building houses for the disadvantaged around the world, the Carters also shared a mutual love for bird-watching and fly-fishing, even building a fly-fishing pond on their Georgia property.
In the 2021 interview with ABC News, the Carters were asked how they stayed happily married for so many years. Jimmy Carter attributed the longevity of their union to working on projects and hobbies they are both interested in and giving each other space to pursue individual interests.
She wore the same gown to Carter’s 1977 presidential inauguration as she had when he was elected Georgia governor in 1970.
The couple, who celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary in 2021, had four children, Jack, Chip, James and Amy. Their sons were adults by the time Carter was elected president, but Amy, aged nine, was the subject of massive media attention and became one of the most famous child residents of the White House.
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