Our 39th President Jimmy Carter, 93, and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, 90, hit yet another milestone this month. On July 7th, the couple celebrated 72 years of marriage. Jimmy and Rosalynn met when they were children. Kathleen Foody with AP reports:
Jimmy’s sister, Ruth, was one of Rosalynn Smith’s best childhood friends. As teenagers, the girls tried to pair up shy Rosalynn with the future president whenever he returned home on visits from the U.S. Naval Academy.
They succeeded in 1945, when Jimmy Carter’s planned date for the evening was busy at a family reunion. He invited his sister’s friend to a movie. The next morning, he recalls telling his mother Rosalynn Smith is “the one I’m going to marry.”
Early the next year, he asked for her hand. She said no, according to Jimmy Carter’s 2015 book “A Full Life,”explaining that she promised before her father’s death to finish college. He persisted in letters and phone calls, and she eventually accepted.
He wore his dress-white Navy uniform and she wore a black and white bib dress to the small wedding ceremony. For several years, the young couple moved around the country at the Navy’s direction.
The Carters cofounded The Carter Center in 1982, soon after the President left office. Since then, the non-profit, non-political organization has been meeting their mission of “Waging Peace, Fighting Disease and Building Hope” around world. They have sought solutions for peace, monitored elections for freedom and democracy, and helped bring the cases of Guinea Worm disease down from 3 million cases to fewer than 10. These accomplishments just touch on their works. The Carters have also been physically building homes with Habitat for Humanity for over 30 years helping to turn around the lives of those in need—a common theme and result via works by Jimmy and Rosalynn.
Sometimes, the duo can seem larger than life given all they have accomplished; yet they are amazingly accessible. Folks can still write to them at The Carter Center and they’ve been known to personally write back. The mailing address is:
The Honorable Jimmy Carter & Mrs. Rosalynn Carter
The Carter Center
One Copenhill
453 Freedom Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30307
There is also a Facebook page called Honoring Jimmy Carter that was set up to help celebrate and pay tribute to the former President and First Lady, as well as dispel negative myths that were propagated by a media—that is only just beginning to convey the truth about one of the most underrated president in history. The Honoring Jimmy Carter page continues to grow and now has over 240k followers/members. To visit click here.
For the stunning examples they set everyday, many thanks to Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. May their love and years together continue to grow.
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