He was the president of the United States and the governor of Georgia, but Jimmy Carter often said the „pinnacle“ of his life was marrying Eleanor Rosalynn Smith.
„The best thing I ever did was marrying Rosalynn,“ Jimmy Carter often said.
He was the president of the United States and the governor of Georgia, but Jimmy Carter always said the „pinnacle“ of his life was getting Eleanor Rosalynn Smith to marry him.
Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter were married for more than 77 years, longer than any couple to have taken up residence at the White House.
The former first lady died peacefully at home in Georgia on Sunday, the Carter Center announced. She died at age 96, just days after going into hospice care.
„Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,“ Jimmy 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.“
Rosalynn Carter was by her husband’s side when he was inaugurated as the nation’s 39th president in 1977 and was his rock of support during a hostage-taking crisis at the U.S. Embassy in Iran that dogged his presidency, as well as during the crushing landslide reelection loss to Ronald Reagan that made him a one-term commander in chief.
In the twilight of their enduring love story, 99-year-old Jimmy Carter leaned on his wife once more after announcing in February 2023 that, after a series of short hospital stays, he had „decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention.“
As Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter both prepared for the end, the couple had plenty of support from their four children, and their 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
„They are at peace and – as always – their home is full of love,“ the couple’s grandson, Jason Carter, who chairs The Carter Center governing board, wrote in a Twitter post in February after his grandfather announced he was going into hospice care.
A one-time commanding officer of a Navy submarine, Jimmy Carter – who began courting Rosalynn Smith while he was a cadet at the United States Naval Academy – often referred to his wife as his „secret weapon,“ both on the campaign trail and in their private life.
„When I first had a date with her, the next morning I told my mother, that was the girl I wanted to marry,“ Jimmy Carter in July 2021, as he and his wife emerged from COVID-19 isolation to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary.
