Former President Jimmy Carter’s 77-year marriage with former first lady Rosalynn Carter was a defining feature of his life, spanning Carter’s career from a south Georgia peanut farmer to state senator, governor and president, as well as his post-presidency humanitarian work.
But, those who knew him say, there was another relationship that was just as enduring and central to his legacy: The one he had with the mail.
“It was postcards from his uncle that inspired a young Jimmy Carter to join the Navy and explore the world outside of rural Georgia,” said Beth Davis, the chief operating officer for the Carter Center who once worked as Carter’s scheduler. “It was love letters sent between a midshipman at the Naval Academy in Annapolis and the light of his life in Plains, Georgia that sustained the beginnings of the most enduring love story I have ever heard, and it was missives from his mother during her time with the Peace Corps in India after she retired as a nurse that set the example that a life of purpose and service doesn’t have to end because your career changes.”
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