Former president Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn mark their 75th wedding anniversary, celebrating a marriage that has been filled with public service and helping people in need, CNN reports.

Jimmy and Rosalynn’s families were acquainted when the pair started dating in 1945 while Jimmy was a midshipman at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.  They married about a year later.  Working on the Carter family peanut farm when Jimmy left the Navy in 1953, the Carters were involved in local church activity and dabbled in local politics.  Jimmy ran for a seat in the Georgia state senate in 1962.  Carter became governor of Georgia in 1971 and ascended to the presidency in 1977.  He was defeated in a reelection bid and returned to private life in 1981.

The Carters, who are currently both in their mid-90s, continue to be active in charitable causes including Habitat for Humanity.  While both have had successful bouts with cancer, Jimmy has made repeated recoveries in the past decade from different cancer diagnoses. 

Carter has served as an envoy and advisor to subsequent presidents, including making a trip to North Korea at the behest of President Bill Clinton in 1994.  He is also an advocate for democratic elections and has served as an election monitor worldwide.

Rossalyn and Jimmy have three sons and a daughter, as well as eleven living grandchildren (with one deceased) and thirteen great-grandchildren.