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The wife of former President Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter was reported dead on Sunday at the couple's home in the southern state of Georgia, according to their nonprofit organization.
Carter was best known for her work after leaving the White House, when she and her husband championed human rights, democracy, and health issues all across the world, all while maintaining a very humble public image.
After being diagnosed with dementia in May, she had joined her husband in at-home hospice care on Friday.
The Carter Center said in a statement: “Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, a passionate champion of mental health, caregiving and women’s rights, passed away Sunday… at her home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96. She died peacefully, with family by her side.”
“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” 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,” the former Democratic president said.
Throughout Jimmy Carter’s long political career, his wife was at the heart of his campaigns.
“She attended Cabinet meetings and major briefings, frequently represented the Chief Executive at ceremonial occasions and served as the president’s personal emissary to Latin American countries,” according to the White House website.
For the decades she was in public service, she was a leading advocate for numerous causes, including mental health.
Carter helped her husband win the governorship of Georgia in 1970, and decided to focus her attention in the field of mental health when she was that state's first lady.
Other White House occupants shared tributes to the former first lady Sunday.
