PLAINS, Ga. — Sunday, July 7 would have marked former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter’s 78th wedding anniversary.
The former first lady passed away on November 19, 2023, at age 96, making this the first wedding anniversary since her passing.
Growing up close by in their hometown of Plains, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter knew each for most of their lives.
A then-Rosalynn Smith was close friends with Jimmy’s younger sister Ruth.
[Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter: an enduring love story]
Georgia’s favorite couple had their first date at the movies.
For 102 years, the Rylander Theatre has proudly stood along West Lamar Street in downtown Americus and hosted many a first date.
One night in the summer of 1945, 20-year-old Jimmy Carter from nearby Plains had his first date with 17-year-old Eleanor Rosalynn Smith.
He told his mother after that date that Rosalynn was the woman he was going to marry.
[PHOTOS: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter through the years]
But Rosalynn didn’t accept his proposal at first. She said no because she told Jimmy that she wanted to graduate from college first, as she had promised her father on his deathbed a few years earlier.
“But he was persistent,” she said.
The couple would eventually exchange vows on July 7, 1946, in their hometown of Plains.
On his 75th birthday in 1999, Jimmy Carter said the most important decision he ever made in his life was “marrying Rosalynn.”
MORE ON THE CARTERS:
- Carter Center releases photo of Bidens’ visit to Jimmy, Rosalynn Carter
- Former President Jimmy Carter caught on Kiss Cam at Braves game
- Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter now the longest-married presidential couple
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