Jimmy Carter’s grandson said Tuesday that the 99-year-old 39th president of the United States is “coming to the end,” but he joked during his last visit that he was “still in it.”
Jason Carter gave an update on Jimmy Carter’s health at a mental health forum at the Carter Center in Atlanta.
“My grandfather’s condition is good. As you know, he’s been in hospice for about a year and a half now,” said Jason Carter, chairman of the Carter Center’s board of trustees.
“And he really, I think, ends up having — as I said before, there’s a part of this faith journey that’s very important to him. And there’s a part of that journey of faith that you can only experience at the very end, and I think it was in this space,” said Jason Carter.
Jimmy Carter in February 2023 decided to enter hospice and after a series of hospital stays, spending the rest of his time at home in Plains, Georgia. He is America’s oldest living president.
His wife, Rosalynn Carter, 77, who was named in the 28th year of Tuesday’s mental health forum, died in November.
A Georgia Mental Health Forum was held Tuesday following the death of Rosalynn Carter.
“This is certainly the first of these forums since that day,” Jason Carter said. “But as a family, the love and support we’ve received from the people in this room and the rest of the world has been so remarkable and meaningful to us.”
“And it really made the whole process a celebration,” he said.
Jason Carter recalled a recent trip to the Plains with Jimmy Carter, during which they watched an Atlanta Braves game.
“But I said, ‘Claw Claw, you know, I can’t – people ask me how it is. And I say, ‘I don’t know,'” Jason Carter said.
“And he said, ‘Well, I don’t know myself,'” Carter Jr. said, as members of the audience laughed. “So he’s still out there.”
Jason Carter said Rosalynn Carter’s death has been hard on the family. He was a humanitarian who advocated for mental health. She is also dedicated to programs that support human rights, social justice and the needs of older people.
“But these moments for her this past year have reminded us, I think, of another important aspect of my grandmother’s legacy, which is caring,” Jason Carter said at Tuesday’s event.
The Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum was founded in 1995 and is held annually in May and, according to its website, brings together professionals from across Georgia to discuss mental health issues in the state.