The former first lady died on Sunday in Plains, Georgia surrounded by family
Rosalynn Carter, former first lady and wife of Jimmy Carter, as well as a devoted housing and mental health advocate, died on Sunday, Nov. 19, at her home in Plains, Georgia while surrounded by family, the Carter Center announced. She was 96.
“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” former President Carter said in a statement. “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.”
“Besides being a loving mother and extraordinary First Lady, my mother was a great humanitarian in her own right,” their son, Chip Carter, said in a statement. “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.”
In May, it was announced that Rosalynn had been diagnosed with dementia, about three months after Jimmy, 98, decided to forgo “additional medical intervention” and enter hospice care at the Carters’ home in Plains, Georgia.
At the time of her dementia diagnosis, the Carter Center issued a statement that alluded to Rosalynn’s extensive work as a mental health advocate: “We recognize, as she did more than half a century ago, that stigma is often a barrier that keeps individuals and their families from seeking and getting much-needed support. We hope sharing our family’s news will increase important conversations at kitchen tables and in doctors’ offices around the country.”
Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born Aug. 18, 1927, in Plains, a small town in the southwest part of the state near the border with Alabama. Rosalynn grew up in poverty, and her father died of leukemia when she was 13. Rosalynn not only helped care for her younger siblings, but chipped in with the dressmaking her mother took up to provide for the family. On top of all that, she finished high school and enrolled in Georgia Southwestern College, graduating in 1946.
Rosalynn and Jimmy — who also grew up in Plains — started dating in 1945 and married the following year. After Jimmy’s graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and subsequent enlistment, the couple moved around a lot, with stays in Virginia, Hawaii, and Connecticut. They had three sons — Jack, James III, and Donnel — each born in a different state; years later, in 1967, the Carters welcomed a daughter, Amy.
Jimmy left the Navy in 1953 and brought the family back to Plains following the death of his father. Together, he and Rosalynn took over and ran the family businesses, which famously included a peanut farm. As Rosalynn recalled in her 1984 memoir, First Lady From Plains, the couple gained prominence and notoriety in their small community as they fought in favor of school desegregation. This fight partly propelled Jimmy into politics, and Rosalynn was not only supportive but played a key role in his successful 1962 campaign for Georgia state Senate.
Rosalynn remained equally involved when Jimmy embarked on his first failed gubernatorial bid, in 1966, then again when he won in 1970. On the campaign trail, Rosalynn met numerous people and families grappling with mental health issues and learning disabilities; as the first lady of Georgia, she made this her primary focus. Rosalynn admitted in her memoir that she “had a lot to learn” about the issue, but committed herself thoroughly, attending every meeting of the special commission established to improve services, volunteering one day a week at a regional hospital, and touring other facilities around the state.
The commission helped totally overhaul Georgia’s mental health system, and as Rosalynn wrote: “When people ask, ‘What was the most rewarding thing you did as first lady of Georgia?’ I always answer, ‘My work with the mentally ill.’”
In many ways, Rosalynn reshaped the role of first lady, notably being the first to establish an official office in the East Wing of the White House. But when asked about her legacy in an interview with C-SPAN, Rosalynn was quick to say she hoped it “continues to be more than just first lady.” She went on to mention the work of the Carter Center, saying, “I hope that I have contributed something to mental health issues, and helped improve, a little bit, the lives of people living with mental illnesses.”
From there, though, she spoke about the small, but monumentally gratifying moments of her humanitarian work, zeroing in on the Carters’ efforts to eradicate Guinea worm disease. Recalling visits to villages where the disease had finally been snuffed out, Rosalyn suddenly got emotional as she said, “It’s just so wonderful — just to see the hope on their faces. Something good is happening.”
