NEWS
Rosalynn Carter To Lie In Repose In Atlanta Monday Amid 3 Days Of Memorial Services
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A motorcade set off Monday carrying former first lady Rosalynn Carter from Plains, Ga., first to Americus then on to Atlanta, where she will lie in repose for members of the public to pay their respects.
Carter died peacefully on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, just a couple of days after entering hospice care alongside former President Jimmy Carter, 99, at their home in Plains, her family said. It was announced in May that she had been diagnosed with dementia.
The Carters were the longest married presidential couple in U.S. history, at 77 years.
“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” President Carter said in a statement after her death. “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.”
“Besides being a loving mother and extraordinary First Lady, my mother was a great humanitarian in her own right,” said Chip Carter. “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.”
Carter was known for her lifetime of advocacy for mental health issues and for caregivers. She founded the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers in 1987.
Mrs. Carter has been the nations leading mental health advocate for much of her life, her family said in a statement announcing her dementia diagnosis. One in 10 older Americans have dementia, a condition that affects overall mental health. 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 doctors offices around the country.
She is survived by her children — Jack, Chip, Jeff, and Amy — along with 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Observances will begin Monday morning with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Rosalynn Carter Health and Human Sciences Complex at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, according to the Carter Center. The motorcade will then travel to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, where Rosalynn Carter will lie in repose from 6 to 10 p.m.
On Tuesday, a tribute service will be held at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University, before the funeral service at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains. She will be interred at the Carter family residence.
TMX contributed to this article.
