Plains, GA - Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, passed away on Sunday, December 29, 2024, only two-months after celebrating his 100th birthday. Although he served only one term, he left a lasting legacy particularly through his post-presidential activities.

In a statement from the Carter Center, President Carter "died peacefully at his home in Plains, Georgia surrounded by his family".

The president's son, Chip, said, "My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love. My brothers, sister, and I shared him with the rest of world through these common beliefs. The world is our family, because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honoring him by continuing to live these shared beliefs."

CBS Radio News reports that there will be public observances in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., followed by a private interment in Plains.

The former president had been receiving hospice care at his home for nearly two years following a series of brief hospital stays. The Carter Center announced in February 2023 that he had "decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention."

Carter was diagnosed with melanoma in 2015, a form skin cancer that had spread to his liver and brain.

Incumbent president Joe Biden is the oldest of the five living U.S. presidents. Carter was the nation's longest-lived former president and the first former president to reach the age of 100. The youngest living former president is Barack Obama, age 63.

President Carter regularly taught Sunday School at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia. For nearly 40 years, the pews were packed most Sundays, not just with church members.

Its sanctuary accommodates a few hundred people. Instead thousands of people would come from all over to hear a former U.S. president teach Sunday school.

President Jimmy Carter was a man deeply committed to social justice and basic human rights. He dedicated his life to alleviating human suffering.

President Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, devoted much of their time to helping others through their work with Habitat for Humanity. For more than 30 years, they led the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, working alongside over 108,100 volunteers to build, renovate, or repair more than 4,447 homes in 14 countries. Their efforts raised awareness of the critical need for affordable housing.

President Carter, who rarely used his full name—James Earl Carter, Jr.—was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. Peanut farming, political discussions, and devotion to the Baptist faith were mainstays of his upbringing. The love of his life, Rosalynn Carter, passed away on November 19, 2023. Both Rosalynn and Jimmy were born and died in Plains, GA. 

President Carter's legacy of service and compassion will continue to inspire generations to come.