Today is Sunday, November 19, 2023. Today the nation mourns the death of former first lady Rosalynn Carter who died at the age of 96 at her home in Plains, Georgia, with her family by her side. The news of her death was announced by The Carter Center. The news of her passing is covered in a CNN article written by Keith Allen and Kate Anderson Brower entitled “Rosalynn Carter, mental health activist, humanitarian and former first lady, dies at 96.”

Her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, praised her partner of 77 years as his “equal partner in everything I ever accomplished.” He added, “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 Carter Center announced last Friday that the former first lady had entered hospice care. She was diagnosed with dementia in May. Her husband began home hospice care in February, following a series of hospital stays.

Carter’s single term in the White House was characterized by a rare peace agreement between Israel and Egypt that continues to this day, but it was also marked by soaring inflation and the Iran hostage crisis. “Through it all, Rosalynn was by his side, often whispering in his ear.”

It is through the Carters’ postpresidency years that the pair established their foothold in history, as they worked tirelessly for world peace and human rights on behalf of The Carter Center, a nongovernmental Atlanta-based organization founded to “wage peace, fight disease, and build hope.”

First lady Jill Biden celebrated Rosalynn Carter’s life on Sunday, telling service members and their families at a Naval Station Norfolk holiday event. Biden praised the former first lady for her efforts on behalf of mental illness and caregiving and women’s rights.

After leaving the White House, the couple traveled to hot spots around the world, including visits to Cuba, Sudan, and North Korea, monitoring elections, and working to eradicate Guinea worm disease and other neglected tropical maladies. Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

In 1999, then-President Bill Clinton presented both Carters with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor. He said they had “done more good things for more people in more places than any other couple on Earth.”

In 2015, when the 39th president announced his brain cancer diagnosis, he was asked of which accomplishment he was proudest. Carter did not hesitate to say that it was marrying Rosalynn: “That’s the pinnacle of my life.”

Thus was the legacy of one remarkable woman, Rosalynn Carter, who earned the nickname of the “Steel Magnolia” by the press when she and her husband occupied the White House. This was a reference she did not mind, by the way, saying once in an interview with C-SPAN that “steel is tough and magnolia is southern.” Considering how shy Rosalynn really was, it was amazing that she was able to stump for her husband when he announced his presidential campaign in December 1974. It was reported that her knees would knock together when she had to give a speech in the early days of her husband’s political career in the 1960s.

As a young girl, she had admired then-first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, an influential global leader who tackled such issues as civil rights and poverty. Once in the White House, Rosalynn helped to transform the office of first lady and became the first to hire a chief of staff whose government salary and rank were equal to the president’s chief of staff.

Rosalynn was the initial first lady to work out of the East Wing. Before her, first ladies worked from an office on the second or third floors of the White House in the family’s private residence.

As first lady, she fought for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, which would have amended the Constitution to outlaw civil rights discrimination based on sex.

Rosalynn’s signature issue was mental health. This passion was fueled by her memory of a distant cousin who had mental illness, as she remembered running and hiding when she would hear him coming down the streets of their small town singing loudly. She recalls, “He probably wanted nothing more than friendship and recognition, yet he was different, and when I heard him, my impulse was to flee.”

It was this experience with a family member with mental illness that left such a deep impression on her that she devoted much of her time in the White House to advocate for better care for people with mental health issues. During her husband’s one term in office, she helped him create a Presidential Commission on Mental Health.

In 1979, she became the second first lady to testify before Congress (Eleanor Roosevelt was the first) when she spoke about the need for mental health reform.

With the death of this remarkable first lady, the nation mourns the sterling long life and praiseworthy career of Rosalynn Carter. May her memory be a blessing!

Have a good week. As you might recall, tomorrow night is my last blog before traveling to Italy on Tuesday.

Stay safe and be well.

Here is a picture of the former president in full Nazi regalia, as envisioned by the people at The Banter podcast, which I listen to every Sunday. He even sports a mustache in Hitler fashion as you can well see.