Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was a bridge — between generations, between the quiet simplicity of small-town life and the chaotic arenas of national and international politics, between competing notions of a woman’s place in the home and in the world.
She was a humanitarian who confronted dictators about rights abuses and made a mission of eradicating Guinea worm disease — a parasitic infection that had once seemed intractable but that she and others came remarkably close to eliminating in her lifetime.
She was also a grandmother who kept sending her grandson birthday cards stuffed with $20 bills well into his 40s, and made pimento sandwiches to hand out to family members and even strangers on flights.
In recent days, there has been a cascade of remembrances from relatives, friends and aides, and others who knew Rosalynn Carter only from her legacy.
Many remarked on how much the world had changed over the course of her life, and how she had been an agent of that transformation, leveraging her influence as first lady, her own political instincts and her sheer force of will.
Persons:
Rosalynn Carter
Locations:
Guinea