The Carter Center announced that former first lady Rosalynn Carter passed away at her home in Plains, Georgia, on Sunday, surrounded by her family. She was 96 years old.

Rosalynn Carter, the wife of the 39th president of the United States, had been admitted to hospice care on Friday before her passing.

“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” President Jimmy Carter said. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”

Rosalynn Carter is survived by her husband, four children, 11 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren, Fox News reported.

Eleanor Rosalynn Smith, born on August 18, 1927, in Plains, Georgia, was the eldest of four children in the family of Allethea Murray Smith and Wilburn Edgar Smith.

At the age of 13, her father passed away, and her mother took on dressmaking to support the family.

Rosalynn Carter actively worked alongside her mother and took care of her younger siblings. Following her high school graduation, she enrolled in Georgia Southwestern College at Americus.

In 1945, during her freshman year, she had her first date with Jimmy Carter, who was on leave from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The couple eventually married in July 1946.

Written by B.C. Begley