Former president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn are celebrating 75 years of marriage.
The two were born in the 1920s, three years and three miles apart from each other in Georgia. When they were just kids, Rosalynn was best friends with Jimmy’s younger sister and thought he was the “most handsome man” she’d ever seen.
When Jimmy had initially proposed to Rosalynn, she rejected his proposal. At the time, he was a young US Naval Academy student, and she had promised her dying father she wouldn’t get married until she finished college.
The loving pair continued dating, and after Rosalynn had graduated from Georgia Southwestern in 1945, she kept her promise and married Jimmy in 1945.
Former US President Jimmy Carter has not only kept a long-lasting marriage but he’s also lived longer than any US president in history. In addition to being president, he’s also received a Nobel Peace Prize and has recently contributed to helping out the country in different ways.
He’s created a new health clinic in a small town that had been without a physician for four months, and his charity has contributed to making guinea worm the second disease ever to be eradicated. He also spent his time building homes for those in need through Habitat for Humanity while undergoing treatment for stage 4 melanoma.
While volunteering for the needy, his loving wife Rosalynn has always been by his side. The two have volunteered for Habitat for Humanity for 36 years, building thousands of homes.
“Both President and Mrs. Carter are determined to use their influence for as long as they can to make the world a better place. Their tireless resolve and heart have helped to improve life for millions of the world’s poorest people,” said a spokesperson for the Carter Center in a statement.
