Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, passed away on Dec. 29 after spending 22 months in hospice care. He was 100 years old and died in his small rural hometown of Plains, Georgia, just four hours from Demorest.
Carter’s state funeral was held today at the National Cathedral, where current president Joe Biden gave a eulogy in respect to the great humanitarian. President-elect Donald Trump was also in attendance, as well as former presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
“Jimmy Carter lived a life measured not by words but by his deeds,” said President Biden. Biden emphasized Carter’s compassion and dedication to people not only in America but around the world.
Before his political campaigns, Carter studied at Georgia Southwestern College, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the United States Naval Academy. Carter rose to the rank of lieutenant in the Navy, starting as a submariner and later studying nuclear submarines.
After the passing of Carter’s father, he returned home to Plains, Georgia to take over his father’s peanut farm and farm supply company. He spent time teaching Sunday school at a local church and served on county boards to encourage health and education in his community.
Carter served in the Georgia State Senate and then as governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1976, before serving the nation as president of the United States from 1977 to 1981.
During his time as president, he signed many international peace treaties, including the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel along with the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union. He expanded American education and vouched for environmental protection legislation to preserve America’s natural resources.
Carter was commonly known as a humanitarian, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his decades of effort to resolve international conflict peacefully and advancing democracy and human rights across many nations.
“Jimmy Carter stands as a model of what it means to live a life of meaning and purpose – a life of principle, faith and humility,” said President Biden. “We all would do well to be a little more like Jimmy Carter.”
After his presidency, Carter not only won many awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but he also wrote 32 books and became a professor at Emory University in Atlanta.
His wife, Rosalynn Carter, founded The Carter Center, which works on conflict mediation with foreign nations and conducts research to combat global disease outbreaks.
The couple spent years volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, all while teaching Sunday school to children at a Baptist church in Plains, Georgia.
The former first lady died on Nov. 19, 2023, in her home with her family by her side.
Jimmy Carter is now on his way to Plains to be buried next to his wife, Rosalynn Carter, after nearly 80 years of marriage.
U.S. flags will remain at half-staff in remembrance of Carter until Jan. 29.
