Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter died Sunday at the age of 96, remembered not only for her life as a devoted wife and mother, but also for her political activism.
The first lady with the longest marriage ever — 77 years — was sometimes referred to by her husband’s aides as “co-president” for her holistic involvement in President Jimmy Carter’s decision-making as he led the nation.
Rosalynn Carter is said to have defined the modern role of the First Lady. She saw herself not only as a figurehead and accomplice of her husband, but as an activist with great influence.
She became known as “the Steel Magnolia,” a reference to her soft, Southern demeanor and accent, which displayed an iron will and ambition to rival that of her husband.
When Jimmy Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in a landslide in 1980, it was Rosalynn Carter, not the former president, who contemplated a possible political comeback.
Just months into office, President Carter sent Rosalynn on a political mission to Latin America to deliver the message to the dictators that his administration was serious about denying aid to those who violated the human rights of their people.
Rosalynn Carter became the first first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt to testify before Congress
In the years following their life together in DC, both halves of the couple said it was she who had been the more political of the couple.
In 1977, just months into office, President Carter sent Rosalynn on a political mission to Latin America to deliver the message to the dictators that his administration was serious about denying aid to those who violated the human rights of their people .
At various times during Carter’s sole term in office, Mrs. Carter was forced to publicly deny that she exerted undue influence over the affairs of the U.S. government.
For all her excitement about politics and her involvement in her husband’s career, she said that once the president made a decision, she didn’t really have the power to change it.
In an anecdote shared by the New York Times, in early 1977 the president decided to lower the White House thermostats to 65 degrees during the day and 55 degrees at night — a strategy to conserve energy.
When her husband rejected her plea to turn up the heat, she opted to wear only long underwear until he might reconsider.
As a servant of the people, Carter chose mental health and issues facing the elderly as her central reason for political emphasis.
She served as honorary chair of the President’s Commission on Mental Health.
In her capacity as chair, she once testified before a Senate subcommittee and became the first first lady to address a congressional panel since Eleanor Roosevelt.
About sixteen years ago, Rosalynn was back in DC before Congress, where she continued to push for mental health coverage.
“We’ve been working on this for so long that it finally seems within reach,” she said in 2007.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter pictured in Washington, DC in 1979
Rosalynn Carter said she discovered her passion for mental health while campaigning for her husband. People told her about their problems and her husband explained to her that she was the closest. Many of them would reach someone who might be able to help.
Rosalynn Carter, Jimmy Carter and Amy Carter – the youngest of the four Carter children – on the south lawn in front of the White House. circa July 24, 1977
She attributed her interest in mental health to time spent on her husband’s campaigns for governor of Georgia.
‘I often came home and said to Jimmy, ‘Why do people tell me their problems?’ and he said, ‘Because you may be the only person they will ever see who is close to someone who can help them,'” she said.
It is known that the Carters built a large American family. The couple had four children of their own: three boys and a girl, and in turn became grandparents to 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born in Plains on August 18, 1927, the eldest of four children. Her father died when she was young, so she took on much of the responsibility for caring for her siblings when her mother started working part-time.
She also contributed to the family income by working in a beauty salon after school. “We were very poor and worked hard,” she once said, but she continued her education and graduated from high school as class valedictorian.
She quickly fell in love with the brother of one of her best friends. Jimmy and Rosalynn had known each other all their lives — it was Jimmy’s mother, nurse Lillian Carter, who delivered baby Rosalynn — but he left for the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, while she was still in high school.
In a statement from the Carter Center, President Carter called Rosalynn his “equal partner in everything I have ever accomplished.”
“She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. “As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew someone loved and supported me,” he said.
It is known that the Carters built a large American family. The couple had four children of their own: three boys and a girl, and in turn became grandparents to 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew someone loved and supported me,” President Carter said of his wife
She is survived by her children, Jack, Chip, Jeff and Amy, in addition to 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Her son Chip said of his mother, “Her life of service and compassion was an example to all Americans. She will be deeply missed not only by our family, but by the many people today who have better mental health care and access to caregiving resources.
Her death follows the decision in February this year to transfer the former president to end-of-life care after “a series of short hospital stays.”
She died on November 19 at her home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by family.