Rosalynn Carter, Former First Lady and Mental Health Advocate, Dead at 96

Rosalynn Carter, a lifelong advocate for mental health and human rights, died surrounded by family on Sunday afternoon, two days after entering the hospital following a diagnosis of dementia in May. She was 96 years old.

Rosalynn was married to the nation’s 39th president, Jimmy Carter, for 77 years and was first lady during his tenure from 1977 to 1981. She is survived by their four children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Jimmy, who stopped medical intervention in February due to his own health problems at the age of 99, remains in hospice care at home.

Rosalynn Carter’s life in photos

Born Eleanor Rosalynn Smith in Plains, Georgia, on August 18, 1927, the future first lady was the oldest of four children, and took on many family responsibilities after her father died of leukemia when she was just 13 years old.

Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter on their wedding day. Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP

After graduating high school, she attended Georgia Southwestern College in nearby Americus. After her freshman year in 1945, she met the former president, who had returned home to the Plains from the US Naval Academy. They were married the following year.

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During the early years of their marriage, the Carters traveled while Jimmy was stationed with the Navy all over the country—from Virginia to Hawaii to Connecticut.

In 1953, they moved back to the Plains, when Jimmy left the Navy to take over his father’s peanut and fertilizer business with Rosalynn’s help.

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Bettmann / Getty

Rosalynn was the driving force behind her husband’s initial forays into politics, helping him to eventually be elected governor of Georgia in 1970.

As First Lady during Jimmy’s final term as President, she served as Honorary Chair of the President’s Commission on Mental Health, eventually helping to pass the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980. She was also a supporter of art and art programs and a frequent advisor to her husband.

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Rosalynn Carter chairs a meeting of the President’s Commission on Mental Health in 1977. HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty

After leaving the White House, the Carters started the non-profit The Carter Center, a health and human rights organization. Rosalynn chaired the Center’s Mental Health Task Force and was a member of the Carter Center’s Board of Directors.

She also served as the Centennial Distinguished Lecturer at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia from 1988-1992.

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Rosalynn Carter wields a gavel for the Carter Work Project in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity International

On the humanitarian front, Rosalynn was perhaps most visible for her and Jimmy’s partnership with Habitat for Humanity, called the Carter Work Project, which began in the 80s and is still active.

Frank Leonardo/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty

“For anyone who wants to get involved with an organization, there is nothing they can do that gives them such a life-changing experience as Habitat,” Rosalynn once said. “This is something that brings together people who have everything they need and those who don’t have so many things that we take for granted.”

Until recent years, Jimmy and Rosalynn used to show up at construction projects and help with the hands-on work.

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Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter work on a Habitat for Humanity project. Habitat for Humanity International

In 1991, Rosalynn began serving on the Atlanta Project’s Policy Advisory Board, working to address poverty in the nation’s capital.

That same year, she launched Every Child to Two, a campaign aimed at raising awareness of the importance of timely infant vaccinations (decades later, when a vaccine against COVID-19 emerged, she and the former president were vocal about vaccinating against the virus as misinformation spread across the country) .

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Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter wave to the crowd at the 2004 Democratic National Convention Scott Olson/Getty

Rosalynn wrote five books during her lifetime and was the recipient of numerous awards from organizations such as the National Organization for Women and the National Mental Health Association.

President Bill Clinton awarded Rosalynn the Presidential Medal of Freedom along with her husband in 1999, noting, “Just as Eleanor Roosevelt will be remembered for her work on human rights, Rosalynn Carter will always be remembered as a pioneer in the field of mental health and an advocate for our children … Thanks to her work, I believe we will soon see the day when mental illness is treated like any other illness and covered like any other illness.”

The former first lady was also inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2001.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter walk toward their home in Plains, Georgia. Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty

In 2014, the Carters spoke with PEOPLE to reflect on their life together, revealing one of the secrets to their enduring romance: They still read to each other in bed every night.

The former president said: “We started 40 years ago, and I don’t think we’ve ever missed a night.”

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Source: HIS Education