Jimmy Carter’s Grandson Says That Days Out from 100th Birthday, He’s Still ‘Emotionally Engaged’ (Exclusive)

Jason and Jimmy Carter during a ribbon cutting of a solar panel project in Plains, Ga., on Feb. 8, 2017. Photo:

David Goldman/AP

Jason Carter is sharing a health update on his grandfather Jimmy Carter ahead of the former president’s 100th birthday.

In conversation with PEOPLE at the “Jimmy Carter 100: A Celebration in Song” birthday concert on Sept. 17, Jason offered new insight into his grandfather’s psyche and noted that while Jimmy isn’t physically able to do things, he’s still very much present.

“He’s doing okay,” Jason said of the former president, who is turning 100 on Oct. 1.

“I mean he’s been in hospice for over 19 months now and he has really physically diminished and can’t do much on his own, but he is emotionally engaged and still having experiences and laughing, loving,” he added.

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Jason previously shared with Southern Living in June that the family’s 99-year-old patriarch is no longer awake every day, and that when his four children — Jack, Chip, Jeff and Amy — make their frequent visits, they can’t always predict the state their father will be in.

“[He’s] experiencing the world as best he can as he continues through this process,” Jason said at the time.

He also noted during the interview that there has “really been no change” in Jimmy’s health after several months in hospice care.

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The former president — who set a new record for the nation’s longest-lived president when he turned 99 — was put into hospice care beginning in February 2023 in the same Plains home he and his wife Rosalynn Carter built in 1961. His beloved wife died at home in November 2023 at the age of 96, and Jason said that his grandfather has been carrying on since then.

“After 77 years of marriage… I just think none of us really understand what it’s like for him right now,” Jason told Southern Living in their early June conversation. “We have to embrace that fact, that there’s things about the spirit that you just can’t understand.”

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Former President Jimmy Carter at the funeral service for his wife, Rosalynn Carter, on Nov. 29, 2023.

ALEX BRANDON/POOL/AFP via Getty

Despite Jimmy’s condition, his connections with his family have also never been stronger. Jason told PEOPLE in September 2023 that his grandfather’s extended time in hospice care has been an unforeseen boon for the Carter family.

“… Both because there’s been so much additional time that we’ve all gotten to spend together, but also because it’s given us this ability to reflect on our personal relationships and experience [an outpouring of love] from around the world,” he said at the time.

“These last several months have been surprising for all of us,” he added, “But it’s been a real blessing.”

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The former president was celebrated on Sept. 17 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta with several performances and celebrity guest appearances from Renée Zellweger, Dale Murphy and Killer Mike.
Former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also made virtual appearances to honor their predecessor, who had been active building homes and teaching Sunday school following his presidency.