Rosalynn Carter died of mental illness and old age at home, surrounded by family, according to a statement released by the Carter Center, a nonprofit organization founded by her and her husband.
US President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter dance at the White House in Washington on December 13, 1978. Photo: US Library of Congress
Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, served as President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. They were the longest-married US presidential couple, marrying in 1946 when he was 21 and she was 18.
“Rosalynn has been my equal partner in everything I have ever done,” former President Carter said in a statement. “She has given me wise guidance and encouragement when I have needed it. As long as Rosalynn is here, I will always know that someone loves and supports me.”
She was considered modest and quiet before she came to Washington in 1977, but she developed into an eloquent speaker, advocate and activist. “The best thing I ever did was marry Rosalynn,” Carter told C-SPAN in 2015. “It was the pinnacle of my life.”
Before Mr Carter was elected president in 1976, Ms Roslynn was largely unknown outside Georgia, where he had been governor and a peanut farmer. He lost his re-election bid in 1980 to Ronald Reagan, the former California governor and Hollywood actor.
Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born August 18, 1927 in Plains, and married Carter on July 7, 1946. They had four children. She struggled with mental health issues since the early 1970s.
At the White House, she became honorary chair of the President's Commission on Mental Health, key to passing a 1980 law that helped fund local mental health centers.
Huy Hoang (according to Reuters)
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