Jimmy Carter’s grandson Jason revealed last week that the 99-year-old former president is “coming to the end” of his life.
The Carter family announced in February of 2023, that the former president had entered hospice care at home and would forego further medical intervention. Carter had multiple health issues in recent years, including liver cancer, metastatic brain cancer, and brain surgery following a fall.
The former president reemerged briefly to attend the memorial service for his late wife Rosalynn Carter who passed away in November.
In his opening remarks at the 28th Rosalyn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum last Tuesday, Jason Carter gave an update on his grandfather’s condition.
He said that after nearly a year and a half in hospice care, the former president is “coming to the end” which he described as an important part of his grandfather’s “faith journey.”
Jimmy Carter is now the oldest living president in history following the death of former President George H.W. Bush in 2018 at the age of 94.
His grandson also addressed the passing of his grandmother Rosalynn, saying that her death had been a “difficult moment” for everyone in the family, including the former president.
Mrs. Carter made mental health awareness a central focus of her advocacy work both as first lady of Georgia and as the country’s first lady.
In 1977, Mrs. Carter helped establish the President’s Commission on Mental Health. Through her efforts, funding for mental health research increased, as did treatment access and new approaches to mental health care.
In his remarks, Jason Carter said the time he has spent with his grandfather in the past year served as a reminder of the mental health aspects of caregiving.
Jimmy Carter served as the governor of Georgia for one term before being elected president in 1976. He served one term and was defeated in 1980 by Ronald Reagan.
