Eleanor Rosalynn Smith Carter (August 18, 1927 – November 19, 2023) was an Americanactivist and writer. She was the first lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981 as the wife of the 39th president of the United States, Jimmy Carter. Before becoming first lady, she was the first lady of Georgia from 1971 to 1975 when her husband was governor.
Biography
Early life and education
Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born on August 18, 1927, in Plains, Georgia.[1] She was the eldest of four children of Wilburn Edgar Smith and Frances A. Murray Smith. Her brothers were William Jerrold Smith, Murray Lee Smith, and a sister named, Lillian Allethea Smith Wall. Smith was named after Rosa Wise Murray, her maternal grandmother.[2]
Smith played with the boys during her early childhood since no girls on her street were her age. She drew buildings and was interested in airplanes, which led her to believe that she would someday become an architect.[3]
Smith's father died of leukemia in 1940 when she was thirteen. She called the loss of her father the conclusion of her childhood.[4] Thereafter, she helped her mother raise her younger siblings, as well as assisting in the dressmaking business to meet the family's standard of living.[5]
Smith graduated as valedictorian of Plains High School. She attended Georgia Southwestern College and graduated in 1946.[6] During her time in college, Rosalynn served as vice president of her class and was a founding member of her school's Young Democrats, Campus Marshal and Tumbling Clubs.[7][8] She would graduate with a junior college diploma.[7][8]
Marriage and children
Smith first dated Jimmy Carter in 1945 while he was attending the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis.[9] Smith agreed to marry Jimmy in February 1946 when she went to Annapolis with his parents. On July 7, 1946, they married in Plains. The couple had four children named Jack, James Earl III, Jeff, and Amy Carter.[10]
Carter also served as a volunteer at the Georgia Regional Hospital at Atlanta, and for four years was honorary chairperson for the Georgia Special Olympics.[13] Her activities included entertaining as many as 750 people a week for dinner at the Governor's Mansion.[14]
First Lady, 1977–1981
Carter alongside her husband as they walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Carter became the first lady of the United States when her husband was sworn in as the 39th president on January 20, 1977. In March 1977, Carter gave her first interview since becoming first lady. She outlined her goals in focusing on mental health.[15]
Carter served as an active honorary chair of the President's Commission on Mental Health. On behalf of the Mental Health System Bill enacted in 1980, she testified before a Senate committee, making her the second first lady to appear before Congress, after Eleanor Roosevelt. Of her priorities, mental health was the highest. Working to change the nature of government assistance to the mentally ill, Carter wanted to allow people to be comfortable admitting their disabilities without fear of being called crazy.[16]
Life after the White House
After the Carters left the White House in 1981, they continued to be very active in public life. In 1982, she co-founded The Carter Center, a private, not-for-profit institution based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Carters returned to the home they had built in 1961 in Plains, Georgia. She was a member of the center's board of trustees and participated in many of the center's programs, but gave special attention to the mental health program.[17]
Mental health advocacy
Carter created and served as the chair of The Carter Center Mental Health Task Force, an advisory board of experts, consumers, and advocates promoting positive change in the mental health field. She hosted the annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy, bringing together nationwide leaders in the mental health field.[18]
In April 1984, she became an Honorary Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and served as a board member emeritus of the National Mental Health Association. In 1985, she started the Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy. The launch and its proceeds allowed representatives of mental health organizations to come together and collaborate on prominent issues.[19]
She became chair of the International Women Leaders for Mental Health in 1992,[20] and three years later she was honored with the naming of the Rosalynn Carter Mental Georgia Health Forum after her.[21]
The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism provide stipends to journalists to report on topics related to mental health or mental illnesses. The one-year fellowship seeks to promote public awareness of mental health issues.[22]
Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers
Carter was president of the board of directors for the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving at Georgia Southwestern State University. The institute focuses its work on both family and professional caregivers for individuals living with chronic illness and disabilities, limitations related to aging, and other health concerns people encounter in their lifespan.
In May 2023, the Carter Center announced that Carter had been diagnosed with dementia.[36][37] On November 17, 2023, Carter entered hospice care while receiving treatment for a urinary tract infection.[38][39] She died on November 19, 2023, at her home in Plains, Georgia, she was 96 years old.[40][41] After a final procession through Plains, Carter was buried during a private service at her residence.[42][43][44]
↑Secretary of the Senate, United States Congress. "Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients". Official Website of the United States Senate. United States Senate (Government of the United States). Archived from the original on July 14, 2004. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
