Rosalynn Carter's Life in Photos

"I've had so many opportunities," Rosalynn Carter once told PEOPLE. "And I've tried to take advantage of them all."

Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born on Aug. 18, 1927, in Plains, Georgia. The eldest of four children, she helped raise her younger siblings and run the home after her father died when she was 13.

She graduated as the valedictorian of her high school in 1944, according to the White House Historical Association.

She eventually married Jimmy Carter; on the campaign trail leading up to his presidency, he called her his "secret weapon."

The two were together for 77 years, reaching their late 90s together and continuing to share moments in the public eye. On Nov. 19, 2023, the Carter family announced the beloved mother of four and grandmother to many had died, following a dementia diagnosis and move to hospice care.

Here, look back on Rosalynn Carter's life in photos.

Rosalynn Carter Meets Jimmy Carter

One year after graduating high school, Rosalynn started dating Jimmy Carter, then a student at the U.S. Naval Academy. Jimmy was the older brother of her childhood friend Ruth Carter, and her neighbor in Plains.

Rosalynn Carter Marries Jimmy Carter

From the start, Jimmy knew Rosalynn was the one.

"She's the girl I want to marry," he told his mother after their first date, the White House reported. They wed on July 7, 1946, the same year Rosalynn graduated from Georgia Southwestern College. The Carters were on the move for the next few years, relocating around the country for Jimmy's Navy duties.

They would welcome three sons — John William in 1947, James Earl III in 1950 and Donnel Jeffrey in 1952 — followed by daughter Amy Lynn in 1967.

Rosalynn Carter Helps Run the Business

The Carters returned their rural hometown of Plains in 1953 following the death of Jimmy's father, and the future president took over his family's peanut business. Ever the equal partner, Rosalynn managed the accounting and warehouse logistics, the WHHA said.

Jimmy "quickly became a leader of the community" and was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1962, according to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.

Rosalynn Carter, Model Mom

Chatting campaign strategy, perhaps? Jimmy and Rosalynn smiled alongside their three sons in this undated photo.

After an unsuccessful run, Jimmy was elected governor of Georgia on the Democratic ticket in 1970 – and his political star would only continue to rise.

Rosalynn Carter Becomes the First Lady of Georgia

During Jimmy's term, Rosalynn would use her first lady platform to focus on mental health, which would become a lifelong mission and interest.

With her encouragement, Jimmy created the Governor's Commission to Improve Services to the Mentally and Emotionally Handicapped.

The governorship came with great responsibility, plus some perks – like a backstage meeting with Elvis Presley in Atlanta!

Rosalynn Carter Supports Her Husband

Jimmy announced that he was running for president in 1974, and Rosalynn would be there every step of the way – even hitting the trail on her own.

"I love it. I love campaigning. I had the best time," she told the Associated Press in July 2021. "I was in all the states in the United States."

"My wife is much more political [than I am]," Jimmy said in the same conversation.

Of her knack for canvassing, the White House said that her "quiet, friendly manner" and faith in her husband "made her an effective campaigner."

Here, the couple hugs on election night in 1976, after learning that Jimmy beat Gerald Ford and won the presidency.

Rosalynn Carter Campaigns for Change

Now the first lady of the United States, Rosalynn threw her support behind the Equal Rights Amendment and a brighter future for the women of America.

Here, she joins former first lady Betty Ford and feminist activist Betty Friedan on stage at the National Women's Conference in 1977.

Rosalynn Carter Shines a Light

Rosalynn made mental health her highest priority as first lady, advocating for greater accessibility for those in need of care and shedding the stigma around mental illness. She served as honorary chair when her husband established the President's Commission on Mental Health in 1977.

Devoted to her the role and the good she could do, Rosalynn also attended Cabinet meetings and major briefings through the Carter administration. She also paid special attention to the needs of the elderly.

Rosalynn Carter Travels Abroad

Independent in her office, Rosalynn served as her husband's emissary for an extensive tour of Latin America in 1977.

"Her role on this tour was not the traditional one of the hospital-visiting, tea-drinking First Lady, but rather, as Carter made it clear, a substantive role in which she spoke to government leaders and acted directly as his representative," Rae Lindsay wrote in the book The Presidents' First Ladies.

Rosalynn Carter Celebrates Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Carters! The first couple poses with their daughter Amy, then 10, before a spangled evergreen.

While serving as first lady, Rosalynn was known to host lower-key festivities at the White House, compared to the parties of her predecessors.

"She brings her own taste to her entertaining; white wine instead of hard liquor, classical music instead of nightclub humor, and open houses for the handicapped and the aged as well as politicians and potentates," The Washington Post reported at the time.

Rosalynn Carter Sees the World

The first lady accompanied her husband on a trip to Egypt in March 1979. Here, the first couple poses with Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and his wife Jehan at the famous pyramids of Giza.

Six months later, Jimmy would encourage Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to sign the Camp David Accords, bringing the countries into a historic peace agreement.

During his term as president, Jimmy is also strengthened relations with China and pardoned Vietnam draft evaders.

Rosalynn Carter Meets Foreign Leaders

Active in diplomatic relations throughout her husband's administration, Rosalynn chats here with Prime Minister Adolfo Suarez in Spain in 1980.

Rosalynn Carter Returns to Georgia

The 1980 presidential election didn't go as the Carters had hoped, with Jimmy losing in a landslide to Ronald Reagan.

"I didn't want to come home," Rosalynn told PEOPLE in 2014 of going back to Plains.

Nevertheless, "they kept looking ahead to what good they could do for the world," their friend Wayne Harpster told PEOPLE. "They don't look back much," he added.

Two years later, they founded The Carter Center to promote peace and protect human rights around the world.

The nongovernment organization works in partnership with Emory University "to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health," according to its mission statement.

Since its establishment, the Carter Center has facilitated programs in more than 80 countries.

Rosalynn Carter Reflects

In 1984, Rosalynn published her autobiography, First Lady from Plains.

The same year, the White House unveiled her official portrait, honoring her service as first lady from 1977 to 1981.

Rosalynn Carter Gets Involved

In 1984, the former first couple got involved with Habitat for Humanity. The partnership would blossom into a force for change and lead to the creation of the Carter Work Project, a subsidiary of the larger nonprofit.

To date, the Carters worked alongside thousands of volunteers in 14 countries to build, repair and renovate 4,390 homes for those in need.

"For anybody who wants to get involved with an organization, there is nothing that they could do that would give them such a life-changing experience as Habitat," Rosalynn once said in a statement. "This is something that brings together people who have everything they need and those who don't have so many things we take for granted."

Rosalynn Carter Writes More Books

Rosalynn kept writing, and went on to author four more books, posing here at a signing for Helping Someone with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Families, Friends and Caregivers in 1998.

Other texts include Helping Yourself Help Others: The Caregiver's Handbook (1994) and Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis (2010).

Another cause close to her heart, the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving at Georgia Southwestern State University (her alma mater), was established in her honor in 1987.

The RCI works to inform and support the 53 million unpaid family caregivers in America, and millions more around the globe.

Rosalynn Carter Receives a Patriotic Honor

In 1999, the Carters were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor, for their philanthropic post-presidential work.

While presenting the medals, then-president Bill Clinton said that Rosalynn and Jimmy had "done more good things for more people than any other couple on the face of the earth."

Rosalynn Carter & Fellow First Ladies

What a club! Rosalynn stands with fellow former first ladies Barbara Bush, Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan and Hillary Clinton at the 20th anniversary celebration of the Betty Ford Center in 2003.

Rosalynn Carter Hits the Campaign Trail

Beyond their post-presidency work as a human rights and public health ambassadors, Rosalynn and Jimmy attended the Democratic National Convention in years past. Here, they stepped out at the 2004 event, which saw Sen. John Kerry secure his party's nomination for president.

Rosalynn Carter Volunteers

Proving that age is nothing but a number, Rosalynn, then 80, and Jimmy, then 83, held hands at the opening ceremony for the 2008 Carter Work Project in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Rosalynn Carter Stays Active

Once a first lady, always a first lady. Rosalynn smiled here with Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush and Rosalynn Carter at the dedication for the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas in 2008.

Rosalynn Carter Cheers on Her Grandson

Vote for Carter! Proud grandparents Rosalynn and Jimmy supported their grandson Jason Carter on the campaign trail in 2014.

Jason served in the Georgia State Senate from 2010 to 2015, and is pictured here during his run for governor of Georgia in 2014.

Rosalynn Carter Shares a Kiss

Just a few weeks after their 69th wedding anniversary, the Carters shared a kiss in the stands at an Atlanta Braves baseball game.

Rosalynn and Jimmy became the longest-married presidential couple in 2019. Two years later, in honor of their 75th anniversary, the former president shared an adorable secret for a lifetime of love.

"My biggest secret is to marry the right person if you want to have a long-lasting marriage," Jimmy told the Associated Press.

"Every day there needs to be reconciliation and communication between the two spouses," he explained. "We don't go to sleep with some remaining differences between us."

Rosalynn Carter Smiles with Her Family

Four generations! Jimmy and Rosalynn posed with their three children, their spouses, some of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren at The Carter Center in Atlanta in 2014.

"They're just very active citizens in this 600-person town," grandson Jason told PEOPLE in 2021 of the former first couple's busy retirement. "[They're] trying to help people fix their roofs, make sure the town is healthy and happy and has a Boys and Girls Club that people can go to and get support and things like that."

Rosalynn Carter Looks Forward

"I've had so many opportunities," Rosalynn previously told PEOPLE. "And I've tried to take advantage of them all."

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