Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the wife of former President Jimmy Carter, has entered end-of-life care at home with her husband, according to the Carter Center, nine months after the former president entered hospice.
“The Carter family continues to ask for privacy and remains grateful for the outpouring of love and support,” the center said in a statement on Friday. “She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains, [Georgia], and visits with loved ones.”
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Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born in Plains, Georgia, the eldest of four children. Her father, a farmer and mechanic, died of leukemia when she was 13, which meant she spent the rest of her youth supporting her mother by looking after her younger siblings and helping with her dressmaking business.
Carter was known for her presence at Cabinet meetings while her husband was in the Oval Office. While other first ladies had worked from the residence, Carter established an Office of the First Lady in the East Wing, with four departments and a chief of staff.
The couple retired back to Plains, Georgia, following their stint in the White House, where they have lived since. She was diagnosed with dementia in May.
“Hearing this news, I’m praying for First Lady Rosalynn Carter, President Jimmy Carter, and their whole family,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in response to the former first lady entering hospice.
Carter has continued to work on causes close to her heart through the Carter Center, including advocating early childhood immunization, human rights, and mental health awareness, among other causes. In 2018, she joined forces with other former first ladies to condemn family separations at the border with Mexico.
She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999, the nation’s highest civilian honor, alongside her husband, for her work in the fields of international peace, health, and the environment.
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The couple, who are the longest-married presidential couple in American history, have four children together and more than 20 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, according to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.
Jenny Goldsberry contributed to this report.
