Former President Jimmy Carter was recalled by government and civic leaders across the Carolinas on Sunday, just hours after he died at the age of 100 at his Georgia home.
“Today we lost an icon who was the epitome of what it means to be a true public servant in and out of office,” said Gov. Roy Cooper in a post on X. “In a world filled with hatred and bombast, President Carter was a kind, calm, giving, and true man of religion. “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
Carter was the 39th President, serving in the White House from 1977 to 1981. He lived longer than any other US president.
Carter received several honors for his humanitarian work in the decades following his presidency, a legacy that was mostly linked to Habitat for Humanity work, which many North Carolina authorities mentioned when expressing sympathy.
He got the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his work with the Carter Center.
“He represented the best of America: guided by faith and service, dedicated to our nation’s promise,” wrote Gov.-elect Josh Stein on X & Bluesky.
In a statement issued Sunday, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis said Carter “will be remembered for his passion for helping those in need, his robust and unshakable faith, and his commitment to public service.”
The Rev. Billy Graham’s son commented on Facebook on Sunday about his father’s relationship with the president, who is also a religious figure.
“(Carter) and my father, Billy Graham, had a close friendship, and we were fortunate to have him attend the dedication of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte in 2007. “I know his family would appreciate your prayers,” said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse.
In a statement issued Sunday evening, U.S. Senator Tim Scott, R-SC, stated, “President Carter’s public witness of his faith was a blessing to his family, the church, and our country.” His legacy as a Sunday school teacher, devoted husband to his wife, and a man of deep Christian conviction in both private and public life will inspire Americans for centuries.
“May his memory be a blessing to his family and our nation.”
Carter, a former Georgia governor, won North and South Carolina in 1976. It was the last time a Democrat won both states in a presidential election.
Admiration for Carter came from all sides of the political aisle Sunday, including North Carolina native and Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley, who wrote on X that Carter “lived a life of service to the Navy, his home state of Georgia, and the United States.”
‘A man who epitomized humility’
Carter’s well-known involvement with Habitat for Humanity began almost 40 years ago, when he and his wife, Rosalynn Cater, began working near their home in southwest Georgia, according to a nonprofit statement.
From 1984 until 2019, the couple worked with homeowners to build or improve houses for those in need as part of the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project.
“There is something to be said about a person’s life when ‘President of the United States’ could easily be a scant mention in his obituary,” said U.S. Representative Ralph Norman, who represents South Carolina’s 5th congressional district, on Facebook Sunday evening.
Carter’s administration coincided with that of North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt, a fellow Democrat. On Sunday, the Hunt Institute (a nonprofit policy group Hunt founded in 2001) described Carter as “a leader whose dedication to service and education made the world a better place” in an X post.
Melba Evans, the former vice president and current president emeritus of Charlotte’s National Organization for Women chapter, stated that she “had the privilege of working on a Habitat house in Charlotte” alongside the former president and first lady.
“What amazing human beings they both were,” Evans commented on Facebook shortly after Carter’s death was announced.
She concluded her article with the words of former President Bill Clinton, who presented Carter and his wife with the Presidential Medal of Freedom: “Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter have done more good things for more people in more places than any other couple on the face of the Earth.”
Commissioner Ken McCool of Matthews, a hamlet just over 10 miles southeast of Charlotte, said this about “the only U.S. President I’ve ever had the privilege to meet.”
Jimmy Carter lived as “a man who epitomized humility, service, and dedication to others… His incredible work after the presidency — whether building homes through Habitat for Humanity, advocating for human rights, or fighting disease around the globe — has always been an inspiration,” he wrote.
Reunited with Rosalynn Carter
Finally, in a statement issued Sunday, U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, D-North Carolina, said Carter “restored dignity and humility to the White House when it was sorely needed.”
“He challenged Americans to walk ‘a path of common purpose,’ to reject war and materialism, and to take bold steps to protect our planet and future,” she penned.
Adams emphasized that Carter was also a family man.
“Having built new homes for those in need until he couldn’t even lift the tools anymore,” Adams tweeted, “President Carter has now gone home himself, to his dear wife … his ‘equal partner in everything he did’ … Rosalynn.”