Jimmy Carter returns to his Plains, Georgia, home after attending a morning church service in town on Aug. 5, 2018.Photo:Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty
Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty
Jimmy Carterreached a historic milestone five years ago today, when hebecame the oldest-living president in United States historyat the age of 94 years and 172 days. Still living in his rural Georgia home a half-decade later, he’s giving future White House retirees an increasingly tough act to follow.
Former U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon.Bettmann / Getty Images
Bettmann / Getty Images
After leaving office in 1981, they returned to theirhumble Plains, Georgia, home, started a humanitarian organization,partnered with Habitat for Humanityand stayed involved with their local Baptist church, where the former presidenttaught Sunday school.
“Both President and Mrs. Carter are both determined to use their influence for as long as they can to make the world a better place, and millions of the world’s poorest people are grateful for their resolve and heart,” Carter Center spokeswoman Deanna Congileo toldCNNat the time, specifically referencing theirinternational endeavorsto alleviate human suffering.
As for his secret to a long life, Congileo explained, “He and Mrs. Carter take walks, and they have followed a healthy diet for a lifetime."
Former first couple Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter walk down a residential street in Plains, Georgia.Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty
Five years ago, few could have predicted just how long the Carters would keep up their work.
It wasn’t until February 2023, after a series of hospital visits, that the former presidentchose to begin receiving hospice careat age 98 and “spend his remaining time at home with his family.” Three months later, the former first lady wasdiagnosed with dementia, and their grandson Josh Carter soon told PEOPLE that both were embracing their “final chapter.”
President Carter maderare public appearancesto attend his wife’s memorial services, the last of which washeld in the Plains churchthey attended for decades.
President Jimmy Carter attends the funeral service for his wife, Rosalynn Carter, on Nov. 19, 2023.ALEX BRANDON/POOL/AFP via Getty
ALEX BRANDON/POOL/AFP via Getty
The Carters' decisions to enroll in hospice care — and be public about it — may have been their final act of service to a world they dedicated their lives to helping. Though the former president is now scarcely seen, his mere longevity more than a year after beginning hospice has sparked important conversations about the benefits of end-of-life care.
“I see more media coverage, I see more public interest, I hear more people talking about what hospice can do for you just because a public figure made that choice,” Dr. Joe Rotella, chief medical officer at the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine,told PEOPLE in February.
“It’s particularly powerful,” he adds, because “that choice was made, and a few days later, they were still living to their fullest as far as we can tell. No, [hospice] isn’t just for the last days of life. It can be a much richer experience than that.”
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Today, Carter is 99 years and 173 days old. Tomorrow it’ll be 99 years and 174 days. The Georgia peanut farmer turned U.S. president has defied the odds plenty of times before, and as he inches toward the century milestone, he has once again proved that his legacy won’t easily be replaced.
source: people.com
