Our nation is currently mourning the death of Rosalynn Carter, former first lady and husband of President Jimmy Carter.
To call her just a first lady though is a disservice to her immense legacy. In a time where it was rarely discussed, one of her key focuses as First Lady was on mental health. In 1982, Jimmy and Rosalynn created The Carter Center, which has improved “life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care.” The two became known for growing Habitat for Humanity, where they built homes for the less fortunate until their later years.
One of the cool parts that I didn’t know about them Rosalynn was that she took up the sport of skiing at the age of 59. In a 2021 interview with VOA News, Jimmy Carter detailed what hobbies they did together later on in their over 75-year marriage:
“We’ve had a kind of policy on which we’ve agreed. We give each other plenty of space to do our own things. And we try to find things we like to do together, and we try to concentrate on them. We took up downhill skiing when I was 62 years old. She was 59. We’ve taken up bird-watching and playing tennis and fly-fishing. So we’ve got a lot of common things we do together.”
While they started skiing later on in their lives, the Carters got to shred at some incredible places. In 2000, Ski Magazine reported that they traveled to Crested Butte. Yesterday, the Salt Lake Tribune noted two visits by the Carters to Snowbird Resort in the early 2000s. While at Snowbird, they held a fundraiser for The Carter Center.
We here at Unofficial Networks send our condolences to the Carter family during this challenging time.
Image Credits: The Carter Center, Lance Anderson
