Rosalynn Carter, Former First Lady, Passes Away at 96 – A Legacy of Love and Advocacy

Diagnosed with dementia in May, passed away two days into hospice care
Lifelong mental health advocate, once called “co-president” when she served as the First Lady

Rosalynn Carter, the wife of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away at the age of 96 on the 19th (local time).

The Carter Center announced her death on the same day.

In a statement, the center said, “Rosalynn, a passionate advocate for mental health, caregiving, and women’s rights, passed away at 2:10 p.m. on the 19th at her home in Plains.” It added, “She left this world peacefully surrounded by her family.”

A medical team diagnosed her with dementia last May, and they have been providing hospice care since the 17th.

Her husband, former President Carter (99), who has been battling skin cancer, has also been in hospice care since February.

Born in Plains, Georgia, like former President Carter, in 1927, she married Carter in 1946.

In a statement, former President Carter said, “Rosalynn was an equal partner in everything I achieved. She gave me advice and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I knew someone always loved and supported me.”

During her tenure as First Lady from 1977 to 1981, AP and other outlets called her influential enough to be a “co-president.”

Unlike other First Ladies, she attended cabinet meetings, spoke candidly on controversial issues, and even traveled abroad on behalf of her husband, the president.

Former President Carter also said during his term, “Rosalynn is the most influential person in my life.”

Despite playing a role in a cabinet reshuffle that received public criticism, she declared, “I do not run the government,” according to AP.

According to Bloomberg, since her time as First Lady, she has maintained an interest in mental health and elderly issues. Also, she testified in a Senate subcommittee as an honorary chairman of the Presidential Mental Health Committee.

In 2007, she also urged Congress to improve mental health guarantees.

At the Carter Center, which she founded with her husband, she chaired an annual symposium on mental health and conducted fundraising events to help the mentally ill and homeless. She also advocated for social concern about caregiving issues.