Relatives of former President Jimmy Carter said he is doing well three months into hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia.
“They’re just meeting with family right now, but they’re doing it in the best possible way: the two of them together at home,” Carter’s grandson, Jason Carter, said of the former president and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, in a Tuesday interview with The Associated Press.
“They’ve been together 70-plus years. They also know that they’re not in charge,” Jason added. “Their faith is really grounding in this moment. In that way, it’s as good as it can be.”
Carter went into end-of-life care in February after his health declined over the past year, opting to refuse medical intervention and spend his last days at home.
Jason said the couple hosts family members and follows updates on their nonprofit, the Carter Center, while Carter receives care.
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The former president still enjoys peanut butter ice cream, an ode to his “political brand” as a peanut farmer, the AP reported.
Born in 1924, Carter served as the 39th president of the United States. Now 98, he is the oldest living U.S. president.
A Democrat, Carter came into power after defeating Gerald Ford in the presidential election of 1976.
Carter helped broker the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel in 1978, bringing peace between the two countries.
He was also responsible for normalizing relations between the U.S. and China, severing official diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Domestically, Carter wrestled with economic woes that included rising unemployment and inflation. He also faced an energy crisis induced by the 1973 decision of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries to impose an oil embargo on countries supporting Israel, including the U.S.
Carter was sharply criticized for his handling of the Iran hostage crisis, a debacle that severely damaged his reputation.
Ronald Reagan would later defeat him in the 1980 presidential election.
After leaving the White House, Carter and his wife founded the Carter Center. The organization works to promote human rights, conflict resolution, democracy and political freedoms, and the improvement of public health.
In 2002, Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role as a mediator in the Camp David Accords and the work of the Carter Center.
Despite the prominence Carter and his wife enjoy, their grandson said they’re just like other grandparents.
“They’re just like all of y’all’s grandparents — I mean, to the extent y’all’s grandparents are rednecks from south Georgia,” Jason said, according to the AP.
Carter will turn 99 in October.
