Former US first lady Rosalynn Carter dies at 96

2023-11-19 20:45:23

“Rosalynn has been my equal partner in everything I have ever accomplished,” the foundation quoted 99-year-old Jimmy Carter as saying.

“As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew that someone loved and supported me,” said the former president. In May it became public that Rosalynn Carter was suffering from dementia. The foundation only announced on Friday that the 96-year-old was receiving palliative care at home. Jimmy Carter has also been receiving palliative care at home with his family since mid-February.

Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter married in 1946 – the couple has four children. The former first lady campaigned for social issues and wrote several books. She is said to have had significant influence on policy in the White House during her husband’s presidency. The Democratic politician from the state of Georgia in the southern United States was US President from 1977 to 1981, until he was replaced by the Republican Ronald Reagan.

Carter is the oldest living former president

Carter is the oldest living former US president. No other of the 45 presidents lived to a greater age than Carter, and no one was ex-president anywhere near as long as he was. The peanut farmer from Georgia has also survived several serious illnesses, including skin cancer that had already metastasized to the brain and liver.

In the winter, the couple’s foundation made it public that the ex-president no longer wanted to take any further medical steps after a series of hospital stays. In September he surprised everyone with a public appearance at a peanut parade in his hometown of Plains. Carter and his wife Rosalynn appeared in a dark limousine.