Three months after entering end-of-life care at home, former President Jimmy Carter is reportedly in good spirits as he visits with family, follows the public discussion of his legacy, and receives updates on The Carter Center’s humanitarian work around the world.
He’s even enjoying regular servings of ice cream – his grandson says.
“They’re just meeting with family right now, but they’re doing it in the best possible way: the two of them together at home,” Jason Carter said of 98-year-old Jimmy and his 95-year-old wife Rosalynn Carter.
“They’ve been together 70-plus years. They also know that they’re not in charge,” the younger Carter said Tuesday in a brief interview. “Their faith is really grounding in this moment. In that way, it’s as good as it can be.”
“That’s been one of the blessings of the last couple of months,” Jason Carter said following an event Tuesday honoring the patriarch. “He is certainly getting to see the outpouring, and it’s been gratifying to him for sure.”
Jimmy Carter, the longest-lived U.S. president, announced in February that after a series of brief hospital stays, he will not receive further medical intervention and chose to spend the remainder of his life in the same modest, one-story house in Plains where he lived when he was first elected to the state Senate in 1962. No illness was disclosed.
During a meeting, President Joe Biden revealed that Jimmy Carter have requested him a read a special tribute when he dies. Biden made the revelation to attendees at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in Rancho Santa Fe, California, as he talked about the efforts and progress made in the research for the prevention and treatment of cancer.
“He asked me to do his eulogy,” Biden said, before appearing to catch himself and adding, “excuse me, I shouldn’t say that.”
