Drafting.- The grandson of former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter said that “it is clear that we are in the final chapter” in an interview with People magazine published this Saturday.
Jimmy Carter, 98, entered hospice care in February. The former president beat brain cancer in 2015, but faced a series of health problems in 2019 and consequently underwent surgery to take the pressure off his brain.
The family and caretakers have been the only recent visitors to the Carters’ Georgia home, Josh Carter told People. But “there is always someone home” to keep the Carters company, he said.
A spokesman for the Carter Center declined to comment to CNN about the interview.
“He’s still completely Jimmy Carter,” Josh Carter said of his grandfather. “I want to say that he is almost 99 years old, but he completely understands (how many well wishes he has received) and he has felt the love.”
Josh Carter, meanwhile, said his grandmother Rosalynn Carter, who has dementia, is aware of his diagnosis and even signed off on the May press release announcing it.
“She still knows who we are, for the most part, that we are a family,” Josh Carter said. “My grandmother is still capable of forming new memories.”
Although the former president’s grandson told People that “it must be hard” for Jimmy Carter to see his wife lose some of her memories, he noted that “they’ve experienced everything they can together. I think the beautiful thing is that they’re still together.”
“They’re still holding hands…it’s just amazing,” added Josh Carter.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter have been married for 77 years and are the longest-married presidential couple. Together, the Carters have redefined the role of the former first family. In his post-presidency years, Carter founded The Carter Center with his wife, Rosalynn, in hopes of promoting world peace and health. The center has worked to promote democracy by monitoring elections abroad and reducing disease in developing countries over the years.
Jimmy Carter has been a long-time volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. He also received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to promote peace around the world.
A peanut farmer and lieutenant in the US Navy before turning to politics, Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, eventually served as governor of Georgia and was president of the United States from 1977 to 1981.
