Former President Jimmy Carter and Late First Lady Rosalynn Carter’s Eternal Love Story
Former president Jimmy Carter once said: “The best thing I ever did was marry Rosalynn,” in a 2015 interview. “That’s the pinnacle of my life.” The couple went on to spend 77 years together in wedded bliss. After being a formidable force in building the nation during the 70s, the couple retired from the White House in 1980. They then embarked on completing humanitarian causes around the United States through their philanthropic organization – the Carter Center. In February 2023, Jimmy entered into hospice care due to declining health, November 17th it was announced that Rosalynn was receiving hospice care at home for progressing dementia. On November 19th, Rosalynn passed away at the age of 96. “As we have looked back at their legacy, it has been really wonderful to see the outpouring of support and respect and love,” grandson Jason Carter shared ahead of their July 6 wedding anniversary. “That word love is really the one that defines certainly their personal relationship, but also the way they approach this world.”
1. From Childhood Mates To Becoming Soul Mates
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter grew up together in Georgia, according to NPR , 3-year-old Jimmy met one day old Rosalynn right after she was born. Their home was in Plains, Georgia, three miles away. Jimmy’s mother assisted with Rosalynn’s care as a nurse. The former first lady soon forged a great friendship with Jimmy’s younger sister, Ruth Carter. “I thought he was the most handsome young man I had ever seen,” she mentioned in her memoir, First Lady from Plains . “I don’t remember ever having said a word to him,” she continued, “except when we bought ice cream cones from him one summer in the old bank building on the main street in town. He seemed so glamorous and out of reach.” Jimmy was enrolled at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, as per EOnline . Ruth set the couple on a date during the summer of 1945 and they struck a cord. Unexpectedly Carter announced his impending marriage to Rosalynn to his mother, Bessie “Miss Lillian” Carter, first thing the following morning. “I didn’t know that for years,” Rosalynn shared in 2018.
2. Raising a Family
As per People , their whirlwind romance culminated in an early engagement in 1946, that year Jimmy gifted Rosalynn a compact inscribed with “ILYTG,” an acronym for the Carter family’s saying, “I love you the goodest.” “Now all our children do the same thing — ILYTG on the phone or in emails,” Jimmy said. “They generally just put the initials. And sometimes they change the initials and make you guess what they’re talking about.” The couple wed on July 7, 1946, at the Plains Methodist Church in Plains, Georgia. They welcomed their first son John William “Jack” Carter, on July 3, 1947, in Portsmouth, Virginia. Their second son James Earl “Chip” Carter, was born on April 12, 1950, in Honolulu. The couple’s third son Donnel Jeffrey “Jeff” Carter was born in New London, Connecticut, in August 1952. They welcomed their only daughter, Amy Lynn, on Oct. 19, 1967, in Plains, Georgia.
3. Start of Jimmy Carter’s Political Career
Jimmy was unanimously elected to the Georgia State Senate on Nov. 5, 1962, he credited Rosalynn with his political successes, “My wife is much more political.” Jimmy’s diligent campaigning, backed by Rosalynn, paid off on November 3, 1970, when he emerged victorious in the Georgia governor contest. Rosalynn started working to de-stigmatize mental illness and increase public understanding of mental health after he was sworn in. On Nov.2, 1976, Jimmy won the U.S. presidential election, he later credited his victory to Rosalynn, who visited 40 states, earning her the coveted title of Jimmy’s “secret weapon.” She told back then: “We can reach twice as many people this way,” she said. “I’ve made as many as 12 speeches a day in one community. I enjoy it. But sometimes I want to stop and wash my hair.” However, the couple was soon defeated by Ronald Reagan on Nov. 4, 1980, when Jimmy lost his re-election bid. The Carters then started their philanthropic venture: “I searched for good things about not being reelected, to ease her pain,” he said. “I was just 56 years old, I told her, and she was just 53, so we had at least 25 years of life ahead of us. That’s when the Carter Center was born. It has been a wonderful challenge.”
4. Working for Humanity Causes and on Personal Issues
In 1984, Jimmy and Rosalynn started a team to rebuild houses for people affected by natural disasters under the Habitat for Humanity causes. By 1987 they co-authored a tell-all memoir – Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life. “He’d quickly write a chapter in an afternoon, so I knew that it had to be a draft, but I’d work and work on my chapters until they were perfect,” Rosalynn told People back then. “I didn’t want him to touch them.” In August 2015, the couple announced that Jimmy was suffering from cancer. On Dec. 6, 2015, Jimmy announced that his liver cancer was cured through surgery. “My most recent MRI brain scan did not reveal any signs of the original cancer spots nor any new ones,” he said in a statement. “I will continue to receive regular 3-week immunotherapy treatments of pembrolizumab.”
5. The Oldest Living Former President and First Lady
In 2019, Jimmy and Rosalynn celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary. The Carter Presidential Library commemorated the occasion with a photo from the couple’s wedding. “Yesterday was Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter’s 73rd anniversary!” the tweet said. “He was 21, she 18 when they were married in Plains on 7/7/46. [Did you know] she rejected his 1st proposal? ‘She promised her father, on his deathbed, to finish college & would not marry until then.’ ” In 2021 the couple completed 75 years of wedded bliss, “We’ve survived this long together because first of all, we give each other plenty of space to do our own thing,” Jimmy said to mark the occasion. “#75YearsAgo today these two kids tied the knot and forged a bond that cannot be broken,” the Carter Center celebrated the historic moment with a wedding photo of the couple. “They are now also the longest-married presidential couple!”