Former President Jimmy Carter misses late wife, Rosalynn, more than a year after her death

ATLANTA — Former President Jimmy Carter continues to miss his late wife and former first lady Rosalynn Carter now more than a year after she died.

People Magazine spoke with Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander, who discussed how the death is affecting the former president.

“He’s surrounded by family and friends and love, and he misses Mrs. Carter terribly, every day,” Alexander told the publication. “He is still engaged in the world and interested, but he doesn’t feel the weight of the world is on his shoulders because he’s handed it off to The Carter Center to move forward.”

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The former first lady died peacefully at 2:10 p.m. on Nov. 19, 2023, at her home in Plains, Georgia with her family, including her beloved husband, by her side.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. and Mrs. Carter were still very heavily involved in The Carter Center.

“They would walk the halls here holding hands, going from meeting to meeting, turning off lights if someone left the lights on,” Alexander said. “They were on the road regularly. They spent one week of every month here at The Carter Center, and they had an apartment here and their offices were here and they were really working colleagues of ours.”

Rosalynn Carter became a leading advocate for mental health, caregiving, early childhood immunization, human rights and conflict resolution through her work at The Carter Center in Atlanta.

She spent over five decades improving the quality of life for people around the world.

“I think often first ladies get overlooked, and so we were truly comforted by the fact that she was recognized as much as she was for all of her work that she’s done in mental health and caregiving,” Alexander said. “People have suddenly realized that she was very much her own person, and it has been for us a moment of real gratitude that people saw her legacy as something that should be celebrated.”

Jimmy Carter turned 100 years old on Oct. 1, his first birthday since Rosalynn’s passing.

RELATED STORIES:

• Remembering Rosalynn Carter: Today marks 1 year since former first lady’s passing
• Former Pres. Jimmy Carter watches flyover celebrating his 100th birthday
• Former President Jimmy Carter casts vote in 2024 election

Growing up close by in their hometown of Plains, the Carters knew each other for most of their lives. A then-Rosalynn Smith was close friends with Jimmy’s younger sister Ruth.

Jimmy and Rosalynn had their first date one night in the summer of 1945. He told his mother after that date that Rosalynn was the woman he was going to marry. The couple would eventually exchange vows on July 7, 1946, in their hometown of Plains.

In 2019, the couple became the longest-living president and first lady in U.S. history. They surpassed George H.W. and Barbra Bush’s record, with 26,765 days together at the time.

On the anniversary of her death, Alexander remembers the former first lady who also became a friend.

“She was selfless, intentional, astute, she listened and she was very service oriented. She recognized what needed to be done and did it,” she said. “When asked what she wanted to be remembered for Mrs. Carter said, ‘I would like to think that people understood that I took advantage of the opportunities I was given and I did the best that I could.’ "

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

©2024 Cox Media Group