Former President Jimmy Carter passed a major milestone this Tuesday when he turned 100 years old. The first president to ever live for a century, Carter is the oldest, longest-living former president, and celebrated the landmark birthday in his beloved hometown of Plains, Georgia.
Carter entered hospice in February 2023 and has since defied the odds throughout his end-of-life care. Carter is a man of many firsts. He was the first U.S. president to make a formal state visit to Sub-Sahara Africa, and even before that, he was the first to be born in a hospital and the first Naval Academy graduate. Although he only served one term, he also became enduringly known for his devotion to human rights and humanitarian efforts at home and abroad.
Jimmy Carter celebrates his milestone 100 birthday in his hometown of Plains, Georgia
Former President Jimmy Carter is 100 years old today! Join us in honoring our visionary co-founder, America’s humanitarian-in-chief. No other U.S. president has lived so long or done so much good for so many after leaving office. https://t.co/lT65jdsaow pic.twitter.com/NOzqi6dQ3h
— The Carter Center (@CarterCenter) October 1, 2024
Born on October 1, 1924, Carter has lived for 80 out of his 100 years in Plains, and it is there that his wife Rosalynn Carter was laid to rest when she predeceased him on November 19, 2023, at the age of 96.. Carter’s grandson, Jason, along with the Carter Center, which the 39th president established with Rosalynn in 1982, is at the forefront of celebrating Carter on his 100th birthday. Ahead of the festivities, on September 17, the Carter Center hosted a musical gala in Atlanta to celebrate Carter, including artists from multiple genres, some of whom were part of his campaign back in 1976. That concert will air on Tuesday.
“Not everybody gets 100 years on this earth,” Jason, who also serves as the chair of The Carter Center governing board, said in an interview, “and when they use that time to do so much good for so many people, it’s worth celebrating.”
“These last few months, 19 months, now that he’s been in hospice, it’s been a chance for our family to reflect,” he went on, “and then for the rest of the country and the world to really reflect on him. That’s been a really gratifying time.”
Celebrating through volunteering
Jason acknowledges that the resume of any political leader has its high and low points, but he defines Carter’s by his commitment to advocacy. “I think he has a complicated legacy but it really boils down, to me and I think, for him, that he lived out his faith and the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself in a way that made him respect people,” said Jason, chatting with 11Alive news station.
“And he used that respect to tell the truth. He used that respect to promote human rights. He used that respect to work with the least of these, all over the world in a way that gave him partners in the poorest places in the world to do remarkable things.”
Carter himself did not attend any specific events for his birthday, with festivities kicking off nearly non-stop since Saturday, starting with the town’s annual peanut festival that Plains proudly combines with celebrating the former president. Plains will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for statues dedicated to the Bill of Rights and Constitution; there will also be a flyover dedicated to Carter, organized in part by Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro.
Perhaps the method of celebration that resonates most deeply is the volunteer efforts launched in his name. Habitat for Humanity volunteers in St. Paul, Minnesota launched into building 30 new homes in five days; participants included Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.
