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Former President Jimmy Carter was present at his late wife Rosalynn Carter’s memorial service in Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon. The 99-year-old has been in hospice care since February, making his appearance this week a rare one. Rosalynn— who was diagnosed with dementia in May, joined him in hospice a few days before her death on November 19.
Jimmy penned a heartfelt tribute following the announcement of Rosalynn’s death by the Carter Center. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished. She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it,” he wrote. “As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”
Jimmy and Rosalynn met as babies and have stuck together since their first date in the summer of 1945. The couple coined the term “ILYTG,” which the 39th US president explained to PEOPLE in 2014. “‘I love you the goodest.’ That’s what my mother and daddy used to say back and forth, and I picked it up with Rosa,” he told the outlet.
Their children have picked up the tradition as well, using it during phone or email conversations. “They generally just put the initials,” Jimmy added, referring to their kids William, James Earl, Donnel Jeffrey, and their only daughter, Amy. They all surrounded him during the memorial ceremony as they shared readings and fond memories of the family matriarch.
The week began with a wreath laying on Rosalynn’s statue at her alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University. The motorcade made stops at the Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia, and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta for the public to pay their tributes.
Also present at the private memorial service were current President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, former President Bill Clinton, Vice President Kamala Harris with second gentleman Doug Emhoff and all living past First Ladies. A formal funeral service will follow on Wednesday at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Rosalynn’s hometown, Plains.
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