Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter Diagnosed With Dementia

ATLANTA, GA —Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia, the Carter family shared in a statement through The Carter Center.

"She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones," the center wrote.

"Mrs. Carter has been the nation’s leading mental health advocate for much of her life," the statement continued. "First in the Georgia Governor’s Mansion, then in the White House, and later at The Carter Center, she urged improved access to care and decreased stigma about issues surrounding mental health ... We hope sharing our family's news will increase important conversations at kitchen tables and in doctor’s offices around the country."

As the founder of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, Carter often noted that there are only four kinds of people in this world: those who have been caregivers; those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers, the center wrote.

"We do not expect to comment further and ask for understanding for our family and for everyone across the country serving in a caregiver role," the statement concluded.

In a statement shared in February, the center announced that Former President Jimmy Carter was entering hospice care at home after a series of short hospital stays.

At the time, The Carter Center wrote that the former president, 98, made the decision to "spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention."

"He has the full support of his family and his medical team," the statement continued. "The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers."

Carter, a Democrat, became the 39th U.S. president when he defeated former President Gerald R. Ford in 1976. He served a single term and was defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980. He was a World War II veteran and Georgia peanut farmer whose presidency evolved into a post-White House life as a distinguished diplomat, active humanitarian, and best-selling author, was diagnosed with cancer in August 2015 at age 91.

Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born Aug. 18, 1927 in Plains, Georgia as the oldest of four children. After her father died when she was just 13, she began working with her mother to make dresses and helped watch her siblings, all while remaining in school.

She graduated as valedictorian from Plains High School and enrolled at Georgia Southwestern College in Americus in 1945, where she met James "Jimmy" Earl Carter, Jr. — a young Navy recruit studying at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland. They’re now the longest-married couple in presidential history.