Rosalynn Carter, who served as the First Lady of the United States and of Georgia, has died at age 96 from natural causes at her home in Plains, Georgia. She had been diagnosed with dementia this past May.
Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born in Plains, Georgia, the first child of Wilburn Smith and his wife, the former Frances Allethea "Allie" Murray. He was an auto mechanic, a bus driver and a farmer. She was a teacher, a dress maker and a postal worker. Rosalynn graduated from Plains High School as its salutatorian and later attended Georgia Southwestern College, graduating in 1946. She started dating U.S. Naval Academy student Jimmy Carter in 1945. They married in July 1946 and went on to have four children: John ("Jack"), James ("Chip"), Jeffery ("Jeff"), and Amy.
Carter became the First Lady of Georgia in 1971 after her husband Jimmy was elected governor, and First Lady of the United States in 1977 after he was elected president. She became an honorary chairwoman of the President's Commission on Mental Health and was the second First Lady (after Eleanor Roosevelt) to appear before Congress. After Jimmy stepped down from the presidency, Rosalynn Carter continued her mental health advocacy, founded the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, co-founded (with Jimmy) The Carter Center, and (also with Jimmy) became involved in Habitat for Humanity. She also wrote five books. In 2021, the Carters became the first presidential couple to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary.
Rosalynn Carter is survived by her husband Jimmy, their abovementioned four children, their 11 grandchildren, and their 14 great-grandchildren.
Read more at AP News, CNN, Fox 5 Atlanta, Atlanta News First, The Hill, and this statement from The Carter Center.
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