Something To Celebrate! 🎈

Posted on by under History, Social commentary, Tributes

I was in the midst of gathering snippets of news upon which to unleash my world-famous snark when I came upon something so heartwarming that it made the snark take a backseat … for now, anyway.  What was it, you ask?  Yesterday, former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary!  I think that is worthy of putting the snark aside and congratulating them!  They’ve been married longer than I’ve been alive, and I’ve been alive a loooonnnnnggg time!

I was married for 15 long years and try though we did, we simply drifted further apart in our views of life.  Marriage is a complex thing … it takes tons of patience, the willingness and ability to compromise, it takes being able to say, “I’m sorry” without following it with a ‘but’.  Whenever I read about someone who has been married to the same person for 50 years, I am uber-impressed, but 75 years together has me floored!

Jimmy & Rosalynn were married on July 7th 1946, one month after Jimmy graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.  Yesterday, they became the longest-married presidential couple in U.S. history.  Jimmy Carter, who is now 96 years of age has said that his marriage to Rosalynn, a spry 93 years old, is the single most important thing in his life.

James Earl Carter Jr, fresh from the US Naval Academy, married Eleanor Rosalynn Smith at a Methodist church in Plains on 7 July 1946

On Monday, Jimmy Carter appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America where he was asked what the secret to such a long marriage is.  His response was simple enough …

“First of all, choose the right person to marry. And every night, we try to make sure we’re completely reconciled from all the arguments during the day.”

Simple, yes?  Maybe not so simple, given that every year in the U.S. there are some 750,000 divorces, many by couples over 50 years of age.

Jimmy Carter served as the 39th President of the United States from January 20th 1977 until January 20th 1981.  Since leaving the White House, he and Rosalynn have been involved in a number of humanitarian works, the most famous being, of course, Habitat for Humanity where even as recently as last year, Jimmy could be seen on a ladder with a hammer in hand, helping build homes for those who might otherwise never own a home.

Back home, the couple supported the Habitat for Humanity charity, building affordable homes

Congratulations to Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter … two good people who dedicated their lives to each other and to humanity!  We should all strive to be more like them!

Rosalynn supported Jimmy’s rise through Democratic politics, from his election as a state senator in Georgia in 1963 to the 1976 presidential campaign, seen here

On one occasion, the couple met rock legend Elvis Presley

The 39th president of the United States and his first lady walked in the inaugural parade with their daughter Amy on 20 January 1977. They also have three sons

Dancing at a White House ball on 13 December 1978

After leaving office the Carters were involved in peace initiatives abroad. In 2002 they made a visit to communist Cuba

In December 2018, they attended the funeral of George Bush Sr in Washington DC along with other former presidents and their wives, as well as then President Donald Trump

New President Joe Biden and his wife Jill visited the Carters at their home in Plains on 29 April

36 thoughts on “Something To Celebrate! 🎈”

  2. This remark — And every night, we try to make sure we’re completely reconciled from all the arguments during the day. — comes straight from the bible, which both of them honor implicitly. (Ephesians 4:26 (NIV) — “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,”)

    There actually are a FEW Christians that live by the bible.

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    • Yes, there are some who try to live by their religion, but most have taken their religion and twisted it to fit their own views. But to the point, yes, I greatly admire Jimmy and Rosalynn … it takes a lot of hard work, a lot of compromise and mutual respect to make a marriage work for even a year, let along 75 of them!

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    • Most people thought Carter was not very effective, but few actually found much other fault with him. But as a humanitarian, I have to give him the highest marks, and to have been married 75 years … says it all, doesn’t it? You too, Michael! xx

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  5. Pingback: Something to celebrate. | Ramblings of an Occupy Liberal

  8. Jill, thanks for sharing this. I saw the interview on PBS Newshour. What a terrific couple. They said they make sure to resolve differences before going to sleep and always kiss each other goodnight. Carter is probably the best ex-president we have ever had with his global mission on human rights, which include help eradicating the guinea worm that many poor people obtain through walking barefoot in bad water. Plus, his Habitat for Humanity efforts, including swinging those hammers, are legendary. He was a better president than given credit for, but his ex-presidency work is beyond reproach. Keith

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  10. I imagine you have to be pretty special to be a president’s wife and of course neither of them could have imagined what the next 75 years held when they married at such a tender age. My daughter heard Jimmy Carter speak at a Baptist conference ( she was in her Baptist phase at the time ) in England years ago and was impressed.

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    • Being a president’s wife is no doubt challenging … every move you make, every word you speak is public record and subject to public scrutiny. I couldn’t do it! I think of them all in my lifetime, I most admired Michelle Obama who never seemed stressed or as if she were trying to be somebody she wasn’t. But yes, the Carters are the gold standard for a loving couple, and both are humanitarians from the word ‘go’.

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