(UnitedVoice.com) – Rosalynn Carter, wife of former President Jimmy Carter, spent four years serving the American people as first lady of the US. But those four years were just a small part of a much larger life of service. Now, she has passed away, and America is expressing its grief.
On November 19, The Carter Foundation announced Mrs. Carter passed away in Plains, Georgia, the town where she grew up. She was 96 years old when she died and had entered hospice care two days prior. The former first lady was a fierce advocate for mental health reform in the United States.
When the Carters left the White House, they spent the next four decades traveling the world and fighting for human rights and peace. Back at home, they partnered with Habitat for Humanity and built houses for low-income American families. The couple continued that venture until their 90s.
In a statement through their foundation, former President Carter called his wife his “equal partner in everything [he] ever accomplished.” He said she gave him “wise guidance and encouragement” throughout their 77-year marriage.
Messages of grief poured in from the other living first families. Former President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush released a statement calling Mrs. Carter a “woman of dignity and strength.” They said she left behind a “legacy in her work to destigmatize mental health” and offered their condolences to her family.
STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH AND MRS. @laurawbush ON FORMER FIRST LADY ROSALYNN CARTER: pic.twitter.com/5PTkYstNCT
— George W. Bush Presidential Center (@TheBushCenter) November 19, 2023
Former President Barack Obama echoed his wife, former FLOTUS Michelle Obama’s words, in saying Mrs. Carter’s life is a reminder to everyone that our lives are best measured by the “lives we touch,” not just the “awards [and] accolades” we win.
Rosalynn Carter’s life is a reminder that no matter who we are, our legacies are best measured not in awards or accolades, but in the lives we touch. We send our thoughts and prayers to Jimmy and the entire Carter family during this difficult time. https://t.co/lqgcusqIhy
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 20, 2023
Former President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump issued a joint statement on TRUTH Social. They called the late FLOTUS a “devoted First Lady, a great humanitarian, a champion for mental health, and a beloved wife” to the former president.
Former POTUS Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton said Mrs. Carter was “an unwavering voice for the overlooked and underrepresented” and she would be “remembered as the embodiment of a life lived with purpose.”
Rosalynn Carter was the embodiment of a life lived with purpose. My and Hillary’s full statement: pic.twitter.com/VJHfc8oLh4
— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) November 19, 2023
Finally, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden issued a joint statement praising Mrs. Carter for all of her work for the American people and saying she was “the definition of patriotism.”
Copyright 2023, UnitedVoice.com
