Former President Jimmy Carter, the longest-lived American president at 99 years old, laid his wife Rosalyn Carter to rest on November 28, 2023. Despite being in hospice care, the 39th Commander-in-Chief attended his wife’s memorial service in Atlanta, Georgia, following her death on November 19.
Rosalyn’s memorial service came nine months after it was announced that the former president would receive hospice care in February. Jimmy “decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention” after a series of short hospital stays, according to a statement from The Carter Center.
Rosalyn’s passing was announced shortly after she began hospice care herself earlier in November, following a dementia diagnosis. Following her death, the former president paid tribute to her in a statement shared by the Carter Center. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” he said. “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 Georgia senator had an incredible career as a humanitarian following his four years in the White House from 1977 to 1981. He became synonymous with Habitat for Humanity and worked tirelessly as an ambassador to impoverished countries, earning himself the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
“When I was president of the most powerful and influential nation on earth, I had more total influence over peace and progress and things like that,” Jimmy said in a 2017 interview with Oprah Winfrey. “But the last 35 years since I’ve left the White House has been the most challenging and interesting and adventurous and unpredictable and gratifying times of my life. … And the things that I tried and didn’t quite accomplish because of change in circumstances and so forth. But, I did the best I could. As my vice president said, ‘We told the truth, we obeyed the law and we kept the peace.'”
Along with his incredible career, Carter had an extremely successful personal life. He married his childhood sweetheart, Rosalyn Smith, on July 7, 1946 and they welcomed four wonderful children. In a 2015 interview with CNN, the former politician said his wife and children are “the foundation for my entire enjoyment of life.” He added, “We have a big family now, we have 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, 38 of us in all. So, we try to hold our family together and just enjoy the family life.”
Learn more about Carter’s kids, below.
Jack Carter
The Carter’s eldest child, son Jack Carter, was born on July 3, 1947 at Portsmouth, Virginia during his father’s naval service, according to The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. After attending Georgia Tech, Emory University, and Georgia Southwestern, Jack joined the Navy. He returned to Georgia in 1971, where he married Judy Langford, and they had two children: Jason James born August 7, 1975 and Sarah Rosemary born on December 19, 1978.
Jack then earned a degree in nuclear physics at Georgia Tech and a law degree at the University of Georgia. However, he entered the political arena in 2006, when he ran as the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Nevada before losing to the Republican incumbent.
Jack remarried in 1992, and his second wife, Elizabeth Brasfield, had two children from a previous relationship: John Chuldenko and Sarah Reynold, per Country Living.
James ‘Chip’ Carter
Born April 12, 1950, in Honolulu, James “Chip” Carter is the second child of Jimmy and Roselyn. He is an attorney and served as a state senator in Georgia from 1995 to 1999.
On June 23, 1973, Chip married Caron Griffin, whom he had met while working on his father’s campaign for Georgia governor, per People. They welcomed a son named James Earl Carter IV on Feb. 25, 1977. After Chip and Caron split in 1979, Chip married Ginger Hodges and had a daughter named Margaret Alicia Carter with her on Sept. 23, 1987. However, that marriage ended in divorce in 2001, and Chip would go on to marry his third wife, Becky Payne.
Following his mother’s death, Chip released his own statement, honoring the former first lady. “Her life of service and compassion was an example for all Americans. She will be sorely missed not only by our family but by the many people who have better mental health care and access to resources for caregiving today,” he said.
Donnel ‘Jeff’ Carter
Donnel “Jeff” Carter was born on Aug. 18, 1952, in New London, Connecticut. He graduated from George Washington University in 1978 with a geography degree and a specialty “in computer cartography,” per Time. Jeff and his former professor co-founded the company Computer Mapping Consultants the same year of his graduation.
He and his wife, Annette Jene Davis, welcomed three sons together: Joshua, Jeremy, and James. Sadly, Jeremy passed away at the age of 28 in 2015. He was found unresponsive after taking a nap at his home and later died in a hospital, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Annette died on Sept. 19, 2021, at age 68.
Amy Lynn Carter
The youngest child and only daughter of Jimmy and Rosalynn, Amy Carter, arrived on Oct. 19, 1967. She was only 10 years old when her family moved into the White House. She became known for her political activism during her 20s. Amy then went on to get her bachelor’s degree from the Memphis College of Art in 1991. Four years later, Amy illustrated her father’s children’s book, The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer.
She would go on to get her master’s in art history from Tulane University in 1996. That same year, Amy married computer consultant James Wentzel and the couple welcomed son Hugo in July 1999.