Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977-1981, died today (December 29, 2024), well over a year after the Carter Center announced on Feb. 18, 2023, that he had decided to spend his remaining time at home in Plains, Ga., with his family and receive hospice care. Carter, 100, was the country’s oldest living former President and despite ill health in his later years, he continued to take an active role in numerous humanitarian causes such as Habitat for Humanity, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. In a 2019 interview with People, he said the secret to a long life was a good marriage. He was preceded in death by his wife, the former Rosalynn Smith, who died on Nov. 19, 2023, at age 96. The couple were wed in 1946.

The President’s death was announced by his son, Chip Carter, via the Carter Center.

Tonight we will shine in Red White and Blue to honor the life and legacy of President Jimmy Carter

: captiv_8/IG pic.twitter.com/xIksQuUp68

— Empire State Building (@EmpireStateBldg) December 29, 2024

On May 14, 2024, their grandson, Jason Carter, told a gathering at the Carter Center held in honor of his grandmother, that the former President “really is, I think, coming to the end… There’s a part of this faith journey that is so important to him, 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.”

Happy Hundredth Birthday to President Jimmy Carter–October 1, 2024: pic.twitter.com/6RESWdAx3r

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) September 29, 2024

On Aug. 19, 2023, Josh Carter, the Carters’ grandson, told People that “it’s clear that we’re in the final chapter.”  Josh Carter added, “He’s still fully Jimmy Carter. I mean he’s almost 99 years old but he fully understands [how many well wishes he’s received] and has felt the love.” Since the former President entered hospice care, statements wishing him well were ongoing.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s Grandson Offers Update on Their Health: ‘We’re in the Final Chapter’ (Exclusive) https://t.co/3Eqc5Yor2E

— People (@people) August 19, 2023

On May 30, 2023, the Carter Center revealed that Rosalynn Carter had dementia. At the time of that announcement, the statement noted “she continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones.” The former first lady was long one of the nation’s leading mental health advocates. She turned 96 on Aug. 18, 2023.

When he died at 100, Carter had surpassed George H.W. Bush in longevity for a former President. Bush Senior died in 2018 at age 94.

At the time of his death, Carter was the last Democratic President to serve just one term, soon to be joined in that category by outgoing Pres. Biden. In his bid for re-election, he was defeated in 1980 by Ronald Reagan in a landslide, due to a confluence of hugely unpopular events during his term, most prominently the Iran hostage crisis and an energy crisis. He had won the 1980 Democratic primary by withstanding a rare challenge within a party for a sitting President, defeating Sen. Ted Kennedy. Though his Presidency is generally ranked below average, the former peanut farmer was seen in a different light by historians for such landmark achievements as a national energy policy and environmental protection legislation, the Camp David accords, and the nuclear arms reduction treaty with the Soviet Union. He often received more praise for his tireless work ethic and unflinchingly positive attitude during his post-presidency years. In the days following the Carter Center’s February 2023 announcement of the former President returning home to live out his life, tributes began to pour in.

A timely reminder that after turning 95 years old, President Jimmy Carter suffered a fall that left him with a black eye, bruises, and 14 stitches — and still went out the next day to build homes for Habitat for Humanity.pic.twitter.com/UgYxyD7fqG

— Goodable (@Goodable) February 19, 2023

Honoring Pres Jimmy Carter on this Presidents Day. Carter & Gregg had a deep friendship for decades. Gregg played a campaign fundraiser for Carter in 76. 📷Charles Rafshoon. Carter honored Gregg in 2016at Mercer Univ with an honorary Doctorate in Humanities.📷Jason Vorhees pic.twitter.com/rudANoYbRc

— Gregg Allman (@GreggAllman) February 20, 2023

On this Presidents’ Day I’m thinking of President Jimmy Carter. pic.twitter.com/fpE2RUi0Qr

— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) February 20, 2023

Today, we kicked off Presidents Day weekend by renaming the former Maury Hall after Jimmy Carter, @NavalAcademy c/o 1947 and our 39th President of the United States. The Midshipmen who will study in Carter Hall will be reminded of Carter’s example and legacy of lifelong service. pic.twitter.com/uo1E076xmr

— Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro (@SECNAV) February 17, 2023

In continued and fervent prayer this morning for former President Jimmy Carter and the Carter Family. He means so much to so many around the world. Lord, hear our prayer. pic.twitter.com/xIJyNDmfYk

— Rev Jesse Jackson Sr (@RevJJackson) February 19, 2023

In 2021, CNN Films premiered the documentary Jimmy Carter, Rock & Roll President. The film, featuring interviews with Carter as well as Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Gregg Allman, Chuck Leavell, Paul Simon and many others, is from award-winning director Mary Wharton, producer Chris Farrell and writer Bill Flanagan. The documentary has a 95% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Watch the trailer and several clips below.

Jimmy Carter, Rock & Roll President chronicles the role of popular music in propelling a relatively unknown candidate from Georgia to the White House, and the significant role that music has played in President Carter’s life and work. The film shows how Carter’s life-long passion for music gave him an unexpected edge as a presidential candidate, as he tapped into a force that transcended racial and generational divides, and often party lines. Carter’s appreciation for all genres of music and friendships with the likes of Dylan, Nelson, Gregg Allman and Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, helped to define his administration.

Others among the eclectic cast of contributors include Bono, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Jimmy Buffett, Rosanne Cash, Andrew Young and Madeleine Albright. The documentary includes archival era-defining live performances from Dylan, Nelson, Simon and Jimmy Buffett, among others.

Watch a clip from the documentary

In the film, Dylan quoted the lyrics of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” in his praise of Carter.

Jimmy Carter was born Oct. 1, 1924, in the small farming town of Plains, Ga. He received a B.S. degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1946. In the Navy he became a submariner, serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets and rising to the rank of lieutenant. Chosen by Admiral Hyman Rickover for the nuclear submarine program, he served as senior officer of the pre-commissioning crew of the Seawolf, the second nuclear submarine.

When his father died in 1953, he resigned his naval commission and returned with his family to Georgia. He took over the Carter farms, and with his wife, Rosalynn, operated Carter’s Warehouse, a general-purpose seed and farm supply company in Plains. In 1962 he won election to the Georgia Senate. He lost his first gubernatorial campaign in 1966, but won the next election, becoming Georgia’s 76th governor in 1971. Carter was the author of 32 books.

Watch the trailer for Jimmy Carter, Rock & Roll President

Related: Musicians and celebrities we’ve lost in 2024