Rosalynn Carter, Former First Lady and Humanitarian, Dies at 96

Rosalynn Carter, the former first lady and wife of former President Jimmy Carter, has died at the age of 96. She was known for her work on mental health, caregiving, and womens rights.

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the closest adviser to Jimmy Carter during his one term as US president and their four decades thereafter as global humanitarians, has died at the age of 96.

The Carter Center said she died Sunday after living with dementia and suffering many months of declining health. The statement announcing her death said she died peacefully, with family by her side at 2.10 pm at her rural Georgia home of Plains.

A Remarkable Partnership

Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished, Carter said in the 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.

Rosalynn Carter was known for her strong partnership with her husband, former President Jimmy Carter. She was actively involved in his political career, serving as his closest adviser and confidante. She was also known for her work on mental health and caregiving, as well as women's rights.

Tributes Pour In

Reaction from world leaders poured in throughout the day. Former president Donald Trump also mourned Carters death on the Truth Social platform, calling her a devoted First Lady, a great humanitarian, a champion for mental health and a beloved wife to her husband for 77 years, President Carter.

Jill Biden, appearing at an event at Naval Air Station in Norfolk, Virginia, said she had to lead this off with a sad announcement of Rosalynn Carters death. She was well-known for her efforts on mental health and caregiving and womens rights. So I hope that during the holidays, youll ... include the Carter family in your prayers, she said.

A Life of Service

The Carters were married for more than 77 years, forging what they both described as a full partnership. Unlike many previous first ladies, Rosalynn sat in on Cabinet meetings, spoke out on controversial issues and represented her husband on foreign trips. Aides to President Carter sometimes referred to her — privately — as co-president.

Rosalynn is my best friend ... the perfect extension of me, probably the most influential person in my life, Jimmy Carter told aides during their White House years, which spanned from 1977-1981.

Fiercely loyal and compassionate as well as politically astute, Rosalynn Carter prided herself on being an activist first lady, and no one doubted her behind-the-scenes influence. When her role in a highly publicized Cabinet shakeup became known, she was forced to declare publicly, I am not running the government.

A Champion for Mental Health

Throughout her husbands political career, she chose mental health and problems of the elderly as her signature policy emphasis. When the news media didnt cover those efforts as much as she believed was warranted, she criticized reporters for writing only about sexy subjects.

As honorary chairwoman of the Presidents Commission on Mental Health, she once testified before a Senate subcommittee, becoming the first first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt to address a congressional panel. She was back in Washington in 2007 to push Congress for improved mental health coverage, saying, Weve been working on this for so long, it finally seems to be in reach.

A Legacy of Humanitarian Work

After leaving Washington, Jimmy and Rosalynn co-founded The Carter Center in Atlanta to continue their work. She chaired the centers annual symposium on mental health issues and raised funds for efforts to aid the mentally ill and homeless. She also wrote Helping Yourself Help Others, about the challenges of caring for elderly or ailing relatives, and a sequel, Helping Someone With Mental Illness.

Frequently, the Carters left home on humanitarian missions, building houses with Habitat for Humanity and promoting public health and democracy across the developing world.

A Devoted Wife and Caregiver

In 2015, Jimmy Carters doctors discovered four small tumors on his brain. The Carters feared he had weeks to live. He was treated with a drug to boost his immune system, and later announced that doctors found no remaining signs of cancer. But when they first received the news, she said she didnt know what she was going to do.

I depend on him when I have questions, when Im writing speeches, anything, I consult with him, she said.

She helped Carter recover several years later when he had hip replacement surgery at age 94 and had to learn to walk again. And she was with him earlier this year when he decided after a series of hospital stays that he would forgo further medical interventions and begin end-of-life care.

A Remarkable Life

Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born in Plains on August 18, 1927, the eldest of four children. Her father died when she was young, so she took on much of the responsibility of caring for her siblings when her mother went to work part time.

She also contributed to the family income by working after school in a beauty parlor. We were very poor and worked hard, she once said, but she kept up her studies, graduating from high school as class valedictorian.

She soon fell in love with the brother of one of her best friends. Jimmy and Rosalynn had known each other all their lives — it was Jimmys mother, nurse Lillian Carter, who delivered baby Rosalynn — but he left for the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, when she was still in high school.

After a blind date, Jimmy told his mother: Thats the girl I want to marry. They wed in 1946, shortly after his graduation from Annapolis and Rosalynns graduation from Georgia Southwestern College.

Their sons were born where Jimmy Carter was stationed: John William Jack in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1947; James Earl III Chip in Honolulu in 1950; and Donnel Jeffery Jeff in New London, Connecticut, in 1952. Amy was born in Plains in 1967. By then, Carter was a state senator.

Navy life had provided Rosalynn her first chance to see the world. When Carters father, James Earl Sr., died in 1953, Jimmy Carter decided, without consulting his wife, to move the family back to Plains, where he took over the family farm. She joined him there in the day-to-day operations, keeping the books and weighing fertilizer trucks.

We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, Rosalynn Carter recalled with pride in a 2021 interview with The Associated Press. I knew more on paper about the business than he did. He would take my advice about things.

At the height of the Carters political power, Lillian Carter said of her daughter-in-law: She can do anything in the world with Jimmy, and shes the only one. He listens to her. AP CK CK