Jimmy Carter’s Family Give Update
The family of former President Jimmy Carter, now 99 years old, shared an update on his condition, revealing that he is facing significant challenges in his final days.
According to his grandson, Jason Carter, the former president struggles to wake up some days, 16 months into hospice care in Plains, Georgia. This marks a poignant shift from the public image of Carter, who was known for teaching Sunday school and building homes well into his 90s. The recent death of his wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in November has also deeply affected him.
Jason Carter, in an interview with Southern Living Magazine, expressed the difficulty of comprehending what his grandfather is going through after 77 years of marriage. “After 77 years of marriage… I just think none of us really understand what it’s like for him right now,” Jason said, as reported by People Magazine. “We have to embrace that fact, that there’s things about the spirit that you just can’t understand.”
Despite the difficulties, the Carter family visits him frequently, ensuring he experiences the world as best he can during this time. In February 2023, both President Carter and his wife chose to begin hospice care at the Plains facility he founded in 1961.
Since Rosalynn’s passing, Carter has remained mostly out of the public eye, with exceptions made for her memorial events, including those at the Baptist church where he taught Sunday school for many years.
Jason emphasized the significance of Plains, Georgia, in his grandfather’s life. “[Plains] is the place that has given him the greatest support and it is the only place where he would go through this part of his life,” Jason said. “That’s his home in every way, and he really cherished that time and that support.”
The Carters have deeded their property to the National Park Service, which plans to convert the homestead into a museum highlighting President Carter’s legacy from his presidency from 1977 to 1981.
When President Carter eventually passes, he will be buried next to his wife near their Plains home, a place deeply ingrained in his identity and history.
Reflecting on his grandparents’ journey, Jason Carter described it as an “American story.” “To go to Plains and see the house that my grandparents built and lived in for all their time and came home to after being president,” he said, “it is a really incredible story to go from that little town to the White House and back again.”