Rosalynn Carter, wife of the 39th U.S. President Jimmy Carter, died on Sunday at her home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96.

The Carter Center, a non-governmental organization founded by the couple, said, "she died peacefully, with family by her side."

"Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished," said Jimmy Carter, now 99 years old.

Rosalynn Carter's most lasting individual legacy will be her efforts to diminish the stigma attached to people with mental illnesses and her fight for parity and access to mental health treatment, according to U.S. media report.

(Cover: A file photo of former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter. /CFP)