Jimmy Carter’s Final Public Appearance Was to Mourn Late Wife Rosalynn

Former President Jimmy Carter — who died on Sunday, Dec. 29, at 100 years old — emerged from hospice care in November 2023 to mourn the love of his life, Rosalynn Carter, bravely offering the nation a final glimpse at its longest-living leader in a rare moment of vulnerability for an ailing head of state.

Nobody familiar with Jimmy needed to see him at Rosalynn’s memorial services to know how much he cared for her. But when the 99-year-old former president appeared in person — nine months into hospice and “physically diminished,” as his grandson told The New York Times before one service — his dogged love for his wife of 77 years came into full view: in sickness or in health, he would show up for the girl from Plains who never failed to show for him.

Jimmy’s first appearance since retreating from public view during the COVID-19 pandemic came at a tribute service for his wife on Nov. 28, 2023, when he was brought into Emory University’s Glenn Memorial Church in a wheelchair, wearing a blanket depicting his and his wife’s faces.

The country’s 39th president was joined in the front row by his children on either side, fellow Presidents Joe Biden and Bill Clinton, and every living U.S. first lady.

Shortly after attending Rosalynn’s tribute service — at which he looked noticeably more frail than the last time people saw him — Jimmy made a second public appearance to honor his late wife, attending an intimate funeral service in Plains, Ga., which was limited to family and friends.

The funeral was held at the Maranatha Baptist Church, where Jimmy taught Sunday school for many years after his presidency. Sitting in a wheelchair, he donned a red lei in an apparent nod to the cherished time he and Rosalynn spent in Hawaii when he was in the Navy.

Following the funeral service, the Carter family returned to Jimmy and Rosalynn’s home for a private burial on the grounds, and the 39th U.S. president stayed out of public view from that point on until his death.

The former first couple deeded their property to the National Park Service, so that their longtime residence could be turned into a museum.