Carter persisted, though. When Rosalynn visited Annapolis again that spring, the couple became engaged, and Carter gave her a compact engraved with the letters “ILYTG,” an acronym for a Carter family saying, “I love you the goodest,” according to Biography. The couple was married in July of 1946.

The 39th U.S. president, who died Sunday at 100, began his storied life of public service as an officer in the U.S. Navy.

Carter will lie in state until Thursday, when his funeral will be held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.