**Related Video Above: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter marked 77th wedding anniversary in July.**
COLUMBUS (WJW) – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is ordering United States and State of Ohio flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of the late Rosalynn Carter.
The former first lady, who had been married to former President Jimmy Carter for more than 77 years, died at age 96 on Sunday. The Carter Center said she had been living with dementia and declining health for months.
A few days before, The Carter Center confirmed that the former first lady was in hospice care at home in Plains, Georgia. Jimmy Carter entered hospice earlier this year.
FILE – The former first lady Rosalynn Carter speaks to the press at conference at The Carter Center on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, in Atlanta. Rosalynn Carter, the 96-year-old former first lady, is in hospice care at home, the Carter Center says. (AP Photo/Ron Harris, File) 
FILE – Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife former first lady Rosalynn Carter sit together during a reception to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary on July 10, 2021, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, Pool, File) 
In this Sept. 15, 1966, file photo, then Georgia State Sen. Jimmy Carter hugs his wife, Rosalynn, at his Atlanta campaign headquarters. Rosalynn Carter turns 96 on Friday, Aug. 18, 2023 and is celebrating at home in Plains, Ga., with her family, including former President Jimmy Carter. Her plan includes eating cupcakes and peanut butter ice cream, then releasing butterflies in her garden — with friends doing the same around the Carters’ hometown. (AP Photo/File) 
FILE – In this Feb. 8, 2017, photo, former President Jimmy Carter, right, and his wife Rosalynn arrive for a ribbon cutting ceremony for a solar panel project on farmland he owns in their hometown of Plains, Ga. Jimmy and Rosalynn are celebrating their 77th wedding anniversary, Friday, July 7, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) 
Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, right, work at a Habitat for Humanity building site Monday, Nov. 2, 2015, in Memphis, Tenn. Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, have volunteered a week of their time annually to Habitat for Humanity since 1984, events dubbed “Carter work projects” that draw thousands of volunteers and take months of planning. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Flags will be lowered on all public buildings and grounds across Ohio until sunset on Nov. 29.
“Fran and I are saddened to learn about the death of First Lady Rosalynn Carter,” DeWine said in a tribute on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Over the decades, she has been a strong advocate for increased access to mental health services, and her passion truly brought this issue into focus across the nation. Our prayers are with President Carter and the entire Carter family.
