Former US President Jimmy Carter attended a memorial service for his wife, Rosalynn, in Atlanta yesterday, Tuesday, who died a week ago at the age of 96, in a ceremony in which current presidents Joe Biden and former president Bill Clinton participated.
The former president, who is 99 years old and has been receiving palliative care since February, arrived at the church in the Georgia state capital in a wheelchair with a weak appearance on his face, in one of his very rare public appearances in recent times.
Carter, who was unable to speak due to his health condition, sat in the church in the front row next to current and former presidents Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton, and all five first ladies who are still alive: Jill Biden, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, and Melania Trump. In addition to the Carters’ 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
During the memorial service, James Carter, one of Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter’s sons, said, "My mother was the glue that held our family together.”
In turn, his sister, Amy Lin Carter, read a letter her father sent to her mother 75 years ago, when he was a soldier in the Navy, in which he said, “While I am away, I try to convince myself that you cannot be as kind and beautiful as I remember you, but when I see you, I fall into… "Love you again.”
Rosalynn met Jimmy Carter in 1945 when she was at university and he was on leave from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter married in 1946 and have since become an inseparable couple, whether in public or private life.
After leaving the White House, Rosalynn Carter became famous for her activity in defending human rights, democracy, and health issues, especially mental health, around the world, while maintaining her public image as a humble woman.
Rosalynn was at the heart of Jimmy Carter’s long political career, especially during his election campaigns. Once she arrived at the White House in 1977 until 1981, she emerged as the First Lady, playing a key political role.
The White House website stated that she “attended major Cabinet meetings and briefings, frequently represented the president at ceremonial events, and served as the president’s personal envoy to Latin American countries.”
Rosalynn Carter was born in the small town of Plains on August 18, 1927, the eldest of four children. Her father died when she was thirteen years old, and she worked with her mother as a seamstress to earn her living.
The deceased’s body will be buried today, Wednesday, in the small village of Plains, where the couple lived for decades, in a funeral in which participants will be limited to those closest to them, led by the oldest former president in the history of the United States ever.
