The place Is Rosalynn Carter’s Engagement Ring Now?

Jimmy Carter’s marriage to Rosalynn Carter spanned over 70 years; they wed in 1946 and shared an unimaginable life (that included 4 years within the White Home) till Rosalynn’s loss of life on November 19, 2023, making them the longest-married presidential couple in American historical past. Jimmy handed away peacefully simply over a 12 months later, on December 29, 2024, at his dwelling in Plains, Georgia (which can also be the place he and his spouse tied the knot!), stories Individuals. Now, on the eve of his funeral, we’re looking again on the couple’s seven-decade-long love story—and tracing the whereabouts of Rosalynn’s engagement ring, a chunk that signified their bond and one she wore religiously over the course of her life.

The couple first crossed paths sooner than most; Jimmy’s mom, a nurse, really delivered Rosalynn in 1927 and—in accordance with biographer Jonathan Alter—even introduced her son, who was three on the time, to satisfy her shortly after the delivery. That was the extent of their interactions till 1945, when Jimmy, who was on a break from the Naval Academy, requested Rosalynn, who had develop into his sister Ruth’s finest buddy, on a date to the flicks. Jimmy mirrored on that first date within the ebook What Makes a Marriage Final, by Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas: “She was lovely and harmless, and there was a resonance. We rode within the rumble seat of a Ford pickup—Ruth and her boyfriend within the entrance—and I kissed her on that first date. I do not forget that vividly,” he defined. Later that night time, he informed his mom that he’d discovered the woman he was going to marry, he later revealed in his ebook All the time a Reckoning. 

Lower than a 12 months later, whereas they each nonetheless at school, Jimmy requested Rosalynn to marry him—a request she promptly refused, explaining that they each wanted to deal with their schooling. He tried once more in Might 1946, and this time, she mentioned sure. It’s unclear whether or not or not the long run president proposed with a hoop in his hand—however he did give his bride-to-be a compact engraved with the acronym “ILYTG,” which summarized the signature Carter household phrase, “I like you the goodest.” “Now all our kids do the identical factor—ILYTG on the cellphone or in emails,” Jimmy mentioned, per Individuals. “They typically simply put the initials. And typically they alter the initials and make you guess what they’re speaking about.”

Two months later—and simply weeks after Jimmy graduated from the Naval Academy—the pair was married on July 17, 1946, at a church of their hometown of Plains, Georgia; the newlyweds promptly moved to Virginia when the groom obtained his first naval project. It’s greater than probably that Rosalynn started carrying the chunky, signet-style gold band, studded with modest pavé diamonds on the face, right now; she would put on the bauble for almost all of their marriage, by the delivery of their 4 youngsters (whom they welcomed between the years of 1947 to 1967), Jimmy’s election to governor in 1970, his profitable presidential marketing campaign and time within the White Home, which started in 1976, and post-political life, which was largely centered on philanthropy.

As for what occurred to the ring within the wake of Rosalynn’s passing on the age of 96? We will’t know for certain—however she was both buried with the bauble (which might have been a becoming selection, contemplating she not often took it off) or handed it alongside to her husband as one thing to recollect her by (one other possible choice, given their comfortable marriage). Now that Jimmy has died, it’s greater than probably that Rosalynn’s engagement ring—and the whole thing of the couple’s property, which is estimated to be modest, per The Impartial—will move on to their 4 youngsters. It’s attainable that their solely daughter, Amy (who’s in her 50s), would be the fortunate heir of her mom’s beloved ring; her sons Errol Carter Kelly and Hugo James Wentzel (who has a severe girlfriend!) may probably suggest with piece when the time comes.