Former President Jimmy Carter, the longest-living U.S. president at 100 years old, passed away on Sunday, December 29, 2o24. The Carter Center confirmed he died in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family. The late politician will lie in state at the Capitol, with his funeral set to take place on Thursday, January 9, 2025.
Prior to his death, he had laid his wife, Rosalynn Carter, to rest on November 28, 2023. Rosalyn’s memorial service came nine months after it was announced that the former president would receive hospice care in February. Jimmy “decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention” after a series of short hospital stays, according to a statement from The Carter Center.
Rosalyn’s passing was announced shortly after she began hospice care herself earlier in November, following a dementia diagnosis. Following her death, the former president paid tribute to her in a statement shared by the Carter Center. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” he said. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”
The former Georgia senator had an incredible career as a humanitarian following his four years in the White House from 1977 to 1981. He became synonymous with Habitat for Humanity and worked tirelessly as an ambassador to impoverished countries, earning himself the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
“When I was president of the most powerful and influential nation on earth, I had more total influence over peace and progress and things like that,” Jimmy said in a 2017 interview with Oprah Winfrey. “But the last 35 years since I’ve left the White House has been the most challenging and interesting and adventurous and unpredictable and gratifying times of my life. … And the things that I tried and didn’t quite accomplish because of change in circumstances and so forth. But, I did the best I could. As my vice president said, ‘We told the truth, we obeyed the law and we kept the peace.’”
Along with his incredible career, Carter had an extremely successful personal life. He married his childhood sweetheart, Rosalyn Smith, on July 7, 1946 and they welcomed four wonderful children. In a 2015 interview with CNN, the former politician said his wife and children are “the foundation for my entire enjoyment of life.” He added, “We have a big family now, we have 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, 38 of us in all. So, we try to hold our family together and just enjoy the family life.”
Learn more about Carter’s kids, below.
