How many children does Rosalynn Carter have? Family explored as former First Lady enters hospice care at home

Former U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter, the wife of ex-president Jimmy Carter, was placed under hospice care this Friday, November 17, 2023, after being diagnosed with dementia in May. The news was confirmed by the Carter Center on behalf of her grandson, Jason Carter:

"Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has entered hospice care at home. She and President Carter are spending time with each other and their family."

Statement by the Carter Center (Image via / @CartereCenter)

Jimmy Carter has been in hospice care at their home since February after a series of short hospital stays. The Democrat served as president from 1977 to 1981. He turned 99 last month, making him the longest-living president in American history. Carter married the former first lady back in 1946, making them the longest-married presidential couple in U.S. history.

The pair have four children, three sons, John William "Jack" Carter (1947), James Earl "Chip" Carter (1950), and Donnel Jeffrey "Jeff" Carter (1953), and a daughter, Amy Carter (1967), together. According to the Jimmy Carter Library, they are grandparents to 12 kids (one deceased) and great-grandparents to 14 children.

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Former President Carter told ABC News back in 2021 that Rosalynn Carter was the "most important thing in my life"

Back in 2015, it was announced that the ex-president had a form of melanoma that spread across parts of his brain, but a year later, it was confirmed that he was cancer-free. In his statement, Jason Carter asked for privacy, expressed his gratitude for everyone's love and support, and added:

"They are together. They are at home. They're in love, and I don't think anyone gets more than that. I mean, it's a perfect situation for this time in their lives."

Jimmy Carter told his mother after their first date with (then) Rosalynn Smith that he wanted to marry her.

She and her husband live together in the same one-story house in their hometown of Plains, Georgia, where they lived before Carter's presidential career. Their last public appearance together was this September, when they attended the Plains Peanus Festival just before his 99th birthday to celebrate their past as peanut farmers.

While she was the First Lady, Rosalynn Carter was a vocal advocate for mental health and focused on increasing care and decreasing social stigma surrounding the cause. She was the honorary chair of the President's Commission on Mental Health and helped pass the bill to provide mental health services to disadvantaged communities.

Even after he stepped down as president, Carter and his wife continued their humanitarian work. In 1982, the couple started the Carter Center in partnership with Emory University to bring attention to health and human rights across the world. The former first lady also started the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, which offered support and funding to those who cared for aging family members.

When she was diagnosed with dementia, her family hoped that the news would raise awareness and "increase important conversations at kitchen tables and in doctor’s offices around the country" about the condition.

At 96, Rosalynn Carter is the second-longest-living first lady after Elizabeth Truman.