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Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has died at the age of 96, the Carter Center announced on its website Sunday (November 19).
Carter, who was married to former President and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jimmy Carter for 77 years, "died peacefully, with her family by her side" at her Plains, Georgia, home on Sunday, having entered hospice care two days prior.
“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” former President Jimmy Carter said in a statement shared by the organization. “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 former first lady was described by the website as "a passionate champion of mental health advocacy, caregiving and women's rights" during her lifetime.
“The more I thought about it and found out about it, the more I thought it was just a terrible situation with no attention,” she said when discussing mental illness in a feature piece for Time Magazine in 2010 via NBC News.
Former First Lady Carter had been diagnosed with dementia in late May, the Carter Center announced at the time, though an official cause of death was not addressed at the time of publication on Sunday.
"She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones," the organization said in a statement revealing her diagnoses earlier this year.