Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, an advocate for mental health care, has been diagnosed with dementia, her family announced in a statement issued by The Carter Center on May 30.
The former first lady, 95, remains at home with former President Jimmy Carter, 98, who has received hospice care since early this year. Mrs. Carter, the oldest living first lady, was said to be “enjoying spring ... and visits with loved ones” despite her diagnosis.
She had begun her work to reduce the stigma against mental health illness even before the center opened its doors.
“First in the Georgia governor’s mansion, then in the White House, and later at The Carter Center, she urged improved access to care and decreased stigma about issues surrounding mental health,” the family said via The Carter Center, the global humanitarian organization the couple founded in 1982.
The Carter family used the announcement to draw attention to mental health awareness, hoping it would spur conversations among other Americans.
One in 10 older Americans have dementia, the center noted. “We recognize, as she did more than half a century ago, that stigma is often a barrier that keeps individuals and their families from seeking and getting much-needed support. We hope sharing our family’s news will increase important conversations at kitchen tables and in doctor’s offices around the country.”
The Carter family called on the public to respect their privacy and praised caregivers.
“The universality of caregiving is clear in our family, and we are experiencing the joy and the challenges of this journey. We do not expect to comment further and ask for understanding for our family and for everyone across the country serving in a caregiver role,” the family concluded.
Married for nearly 77 years, the Carters are the longest-married first couple in U.S. history. The family noted in its statement that Rosalynn Carter had spent her long public life advocating for individuals and families affected by mental illness and those in caregiving relationships with loved ones.
“Mrs. Carter often noted that there are only four kinds of people in this world: those who have been caregivers; those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers,” the family statement reads. “We are experiencing the joy and the challenges of this journey.”
The Carters have been visiting only with family and close friends since the former president’s announcement in February that he would forgo further medical intervention after a series of short hospital stays.
‘Full Partners’
The couple often described themselves as “full partners” throughout Jimmy Carter’s political career and their long public life that followed. Rosalynn Carter campaigned vigorously for her husband in his bids for Georgia governor and the presidency. She used her platform to prioritize mental health awareness, working to address the stigma attached to the condition.After their White House years, Rosalynn Carter continued her mental health advocacy at The Carter Center, and she traveled extensively with her husband as part of their work promoting democracy globally and fighting disease in the developing world.
Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born in Plains on Aug. 18, 1927. Jimmy Carter’s mother, a nurse, delivered her in the Smith family home. Lillian Carter brought her young son back a few days later to visit, allowing the future president and first lady to meet as preschooler and newborn.
They were married on July 7, 1946.
