Today is Sunday, February 19, 2023. This weekend, we learn that former President Jimmy Carter who is now in his 98th year, has announced that he’s receiving end-of-life care “instead of additional medical intervention” at his Plains, Georgia, home. The Democrat served one term in the Oval Office, beating Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election before losing in a landslide to Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980. Today we hear that the church where Carter taught Sunday school for decades marked his absence as the former president receives end-of-life care since suffering numerous health hazards over the years. An online article for CNN by Holly Yan details the long record of humanitarianism practiced by the former president who amassed a long record of doing good works long after he left the White House entitled “Jimmy Carter’s church asks for comfort for his family as the former president enters hospice care.” Two years ago he celebrated his 75th wedding anniversary with his wife, Rosalynn, at his side, along with about 350 guests who were invited to his Plains, Georgia, home for the festivities.

Carter, the former peanut farmer, who became the country’s 39th president from 1977 until 1981, has taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, since the 1980s. Not even a cancer diagnosis prevented him from teaching Bible class in 2015.

On Saturday, though, it was determined after a series of short hospital stays, “U.S. former president Jimmy Carter decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention,” according to a statement from The Carter Center, which was also shared by the church. The congregation at the church honored Carter during the first Sunday service since news of his hospice care came out.

The former president became the oldest living U.S. commander in chief after the death of George H.W. Bush, who died in late 2018 at age 94. Carter beat brain cancer in 2015 – but faced a series of health scares in 2019 and underwent surgery to remove pressure on his brain.

Because of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, Carter has kept a low public profile, but has continued to speak out about risks to democracy around the world, a longtime cause of his.

In his long, long life, Carter was a peanut farmer and U.S. Navy lieutenant before launching a career in politics. The Democrat eventually served one term as governor of Georgia before becoming president in 1977.

In his post-presidency years, Carter founded The Carter Center in 1982, along with his wife, Rosalynn, in hopes of advancing world peace and health. The center has worked to advance democracy by monitoring foreign elections and reducing diseases in developing countries over the years. Carter even received the Nobel Prize in 2002 for his efforts to push for peace across the globe.

The amiable 39th president has also been a longtime volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that helps families build and improve places to call home. According to its website, Carter has been serving as a volunteer for over 30 years.

In light of this sad news, the nation extends its prayers and well wishes to the entire Carter family over the condition of its paterfamilias. Carter received the highest honor in a tweet from journalist Nicholas Kristof on his Twitter page when he said, “I’ve had the good fortune to meet many presidents, kings, Nobel Peace Prize winners and truly impressive people. Few are as truly good as Jimmy Carter, who at age 98 is now entering hospice. He leaves this planet so much better than he found it. A great, great, great man.”

With the imminent death of Carter, there are only four breathing presidents left: Bush, Clinton, Obama, and Dumpf. The youngest former president is Obama, at age 61. The other three are all 76 years old, while Dumpf’s developmental age is gauged at age 5 (sorry, I couldn’t resist this dig at 45!).

Have a good week.

Stay safe and be well.