LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 06: Former President Jimmy Carter (L) and wife Rosalynn Carter arrive at the 2015 MusiCares Person of The Year honoring Bob Dylan at Los Angeles Convention Center on February 6, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin | FilmMagic | Getty Images
Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, 96, has entered hospice care at home, her family said Friday.
The family announced earlier this year that she has dementia.
Former President Jimmy Carter, 99, is also receiving hospice care at their home in Plains, Georgia.
“She and President Carter are spending time with each other and their family,” according to a statement from grandson Jason Carter, “the Carter family continues to ask for privacy and remains grateful for the outpouring of love and support.”
In September, the couple made an appearance at a festival in their hometown, riding in a black SUV at the Plains Peanut Festival.
The couple have been married for more than 77 years, and the former president has said “the best thing I ever had happen in my life was when she said she’d marry me.”
At 99, Carter is the oldest living American president. It was after a series of hospital stays earlier this year that his family announced he would enter hospice at home.
He was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 — melanoma that had spread to his liver and brain — but he was later declared cancer-free.
In 2019, Carter suffered a black eye in a fall and was later hospitalized with a fractured pelvis incurred in a separate fall.
The couple served in the White House after his election in 1976, when the Democrat defeated Republican President Gerald Ford in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.
Carter served only one term, after losing to Ronald Reagan in 1980.
