Rosalynn Carter: Georgia hometown roots shaped her life and values

PLAINS, Ga. - Throughout her entire life, former first lady Rosalynn Carter's roots in her hometown of Plains, Georgia were deep, and she took the lessons and values she learned in the small town with her to Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and around the world.

Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born in Plains on Aug. 18, 1927, the eldest of four children. Her father died when she was young, so she took on much of the responsibility of caring for her siblings when her mother went to work part-time.

Looking back at that time, Carter said her father's death would shape her life.

"My mother told me I was going to have to be very grown up and responsible," she said.

She also contributed to the family's income by working after school in a beauty parlor. "We were very poor and worked hard," she once said, but she kept up her studies, graduating from high school as class valedictorian.

Her independent spirit and self-reliance built up from her childhood stayed with her throughout her life. She became a proud advocate for the isolated and underserved, choosing her own signature political issues to highlight outside of her husband's.

Jimmy Carter, Democratic presidential candidate, and his wife, Rosalynn, share a moment aboard his campaign plane

Known in the town as the "girl next door," Carter said that she wasn't interested in boys and didn't think she would ever marry.

That all changed when the brother of one of her best friends came calling.

"Along came Jimmy Carter and my life has been an adventure ever since," she said.

Jimmy and Rosalynn had known each other all their lives — it was Jimmy’s mother, nurse Lillian Carter, who delivered baby Rosalynn — but he left for the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, when she was still in high school.

After a blind date, Jimmy told his mother: "That’s the girl I want to marry." They wed in 1946, shortly after his graduation from Annapolis and Rosalynn’s graduation from Georgia Southwestern College.

Their sons were born where Jimmy Carter was stationed: John William (Jack) in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1947; James Earl III (Chip) in Honolulu in 1950; and Donnel Jeffery (Jeff) in New London, Connecticut, in 1952. Amy was born in Plains in 1967. By then, Carter was a state senator.

Navy life had provided Rosalynn with her first chance to see the world, but it would be a while before she left her hometown to make a big impact. When Carter’s father, James Earl Sr., died in 1953, Jimmy Carter decided, without consulting his wife, to move the family back to Plains, where he took over the family farm. She joined him there in the day-to-day operations, keeping the books and weighing fertilizer trucks.

"We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business," Rosalynn Carter recalled with pride in 2021. "I knew more on paper about the business than he did. He would take my advice about things." 

That partnership continued to the White House and beyond. During her time as the wife of the most powerful man in America, she used her natural political instincts to wield influence behind the scenes. When her role in a highly publicized Cabinet shakeup became known, she was forced to declare publicly, "I am not running the government."

Many presidential aides insisted that her political instincts were better than her husband’s — they often enlisted her support for a project before they discussed it with the president. Her iron will, contrasted with her outwardly shy demeanor and soft Southern accent, inspired Washington reporters to call her "the Steel Magnolia."

That strength of self and iron will continued throughout her life. She continued to advocate for mental health issues, care for the elderly, and support for the homeless long after her husband left office.

Still, despite traveling the world on humanitarian missions, the Carters always returned to their hometown.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.