Jimmy Carter, 39th President, Passes Away at 100, Leaving Behind a Legacy of Service

Former President Jimmy Carter passed away on Sunday, December 29th, 2024. He had earned the title of the oldest living former president and was the first one to live to the age of 100, which he turned in October of this year. Although he served just one term from 1977-1981, his life after the White House was a legacy of service.

In 1984, he and his wife Rosalynn started volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, which they continued to do for over 35 years, even into their 90s. The couple led the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Used Their Talents For The Benefit of Others

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In 2019, PEOPLE interviewed Jimmy Carter, one of the last interviews of his lifetime. The interview took place in Nashville, Tennessee, at the construction site for Habitat for Humanity, where he and his wife Rosalynn were helping build homes. At that point in the year, they had built 21 homes in the Nashville area.

During the interview, the former president reflected on his years of public service and shared some lessons he had learned from his long life and his marriage to Rosalynn.

“One of the things Jesus taught was: If you have any talents, try to utilize them for the benefit of others,” said 95-year-old Jimmy Carter during the interview. “That’s what Rosa and I have both tried to do.”

Even With an Injury, He Still Came To Help Those In Need

Unfortunately, before he came to Tennessee on that trip, he had fallen at his home in Plains, Georgia. The injury required 14 stitches on his head, and he had a black eye. Still, they still went to Tennessee to come to build houses. He and his wife clearly had a big heart for service.

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The former president also taught Sunday school in his rural Georgia Baptist church, Maranatha Baptist Church, until 2020. He also earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.”

Family and Marriage Were Important to the Carters

In 2015, he experienced a health scare when he was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, a form of skin cancer. It had spread to his brain. However, he was able to beat the cancer and became cancer-free. While he was going through this, he wasn’t sure he would recover. “I just thought I had a few weeks left, but I was surprisingly at ease,” he said. “I’ve had a full life, I have thousands of friends … so I was surprisingly at ease, much more so than my wife was.”

Jimmy and Rosalynn were married in 1946 and were married for 77 years when she passed away in 2023. The couple had four children: Jack, Chip, Jeff, and Amy; 11 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. Family and marriage were also very important to them.

In addition to all of their public service, the couple shared hobbies such as bird-watching, tennis, and downhill skiing. They also enjoyed the quiet time spent at home. “Now when we have a quiet moment, like a birthday or something, we like to stay at home, just by ourselves, and enjoy a quiet day in our own house without any visitors and with minimum phone calls and emails coming in,” he said.

RELATED: Jimmy Carter Mourns the Loss of His Wife, Rosalynn Carter, Following Her Death at 96

Jimmy Carter’s Advice is to Marry the Best Spouse

At the time of this interview, Jimmy Carter was 95 years old. He shared a bit about being that age. “It’s hard to live until you’re 95 years old,” he told PEOPLE. “I think the best explanation for that is to marry the best spouse: someone who will take care of you and engage and do things to challenge you and keep you alive and interested in life.”

That sounds like exactly what he did. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter lived amazing lives filled with family and service. And now they are together again, walking alongside Jesus. We pray for his family as they mourn his loss and take comfort in knowing he lived a fantastic life.

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“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” - Matthew 6:33

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h/t: PEOPLE

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Julie Provost is a GodUpdates staff writer and editor. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, three boys, and little dog Max. She loves to read, go to the movies, and enjoy time with family and friends.