Former President Jimmy Carter’s oldest grandson said on Tuesday that his grandfather is “coming to the end” after spending more than a year in hospice care.
Jason Carter, who also serves as chair of The Carter Center Board of Trustees, spoke about his grandparents at the 28th Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum – which Jason Carter noted is the first such forum the center held since his grandmother, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, died in November at the age of 96.
“First of all, as you all have expected, I’m sure, my grandmother’s passing was a difficult moment for all of us, including my grandfather,” Jason Carter said, addressing the audience. “And this is of course, the first of these forums since that day, but the outpouring of love and support that we as a family received from the people in this room and from the rest of the world was so remarkable and meaningful to us.”
Jason Carter thanked the community and the rest of the world “on behalf of my whole family” for making the former first lady’s death a celebration of her life.
He then provided an update about his grandfather, who is the oldest living president at 99 years old.
“My grandfather is doing okay. He has been in hospice, as you know, for almost a year and a half now. And he really is, I think, coming to the end,” Jason Carter said.
“As I’ve said before, there’s a part of this faith journey that is so important to him,” he continued. “And there’s a part of that faith journey that you only can live at the very end, and I think he has been there in that space.”
Jason Carter recounted the last time he saw his grandfather, a couple weeks ago, when they watched a Braves baseball game together and discussed the former president’s wellbeing.
“I said, ‘Papa, you know, I can’t- people ask me how you’re doing, and I say I don’t know.’ And he said, ‘Well, I don’t know myself,” Jason Carter said, describing his conversation with the former president.
“So he is still there,” Jason Carter continued.
He noted the connection between caregiving and mental health, which he said has been evermore prevalent since the former president went into hospice care.
“The caregiving associated with mental health and mental illness is so crucial and so fundamental to the work that we all do in this room, and to her legacy,” Jason Carter said, referring to his grandmother. “It is remarkable and important, and we’ve all experienced it very firsthand over the last year, so we give thanks for that as well.”
The former president announced in February 2023 that he had begun receiving hospice care, forgoing further medical intervention so he could spend time with family.
The former president’s 100th birthday is Oct. 1 of this year.