Former first lady Rosalynn Carter passed away at the age of 96, her family reported. In the statement they issued for the public, they wrote that Rosalynn “died peacefully, with family by her side” at 2:20 p.m. at her Plains, Georgia, home in the country.
The Carter Center reported that Rosalynn battled dementia and that her health deteriorated recently.
“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” former president Jimmy Carter said in the statement. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”
In private conversations, President Carter’s aides would sometimes call her “co-president.”
During his presidency from 1977 to 1981, Jimmy Carter told aides, “Rosalynn is my best friend… the perfect extension of me, probably the most influential person in my life.”
During his presidency, Roselynn wasn’t just a First Lady, but she was her husband’s closest advisor and stood by his side supporting every decision he made as a head of the country.
After leaving the White House, the Carters returned to live in their family house in Plains, Georgia. The house, which according to Zillow is valued at $209,996, was built in 1961, when the Carters welcomed their fourth child in their lives and needed a bigger place. The couple always led a quite and a very simple life.
He never took any advantage of post-presidential popularity and was reported saying: “I don’t see anything wrong with it; I don’t blame other people for doing it. It just never had been my ambition to be rich.”