Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter enters hospice as well-wishes reflect on legacy
CTV
Dozens of well-wishers made the pilgrimage Sunday to The Carter Center in Atlanta, as prayers and memories of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's legacy were offered up at his small Baptist church in Plains, Georgia, a day after he entered hospice care.
Dozens of well-wishers made the pilgrimage Sunday to The Carter Center in Atlanta, as prayers and memories of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's legacy were offered up at his small Baptist church in Plains, Georgia, a day after he entered hospice care.
Among those paying homage was his niece, who noted the 39th president's years of service in an emotional address at Maranatha Baptist Church, where Carter taught Sunday school for decades.
"I just want to read one of Uncle Jimmy's quotes," Kim Fuller said during the Sunday school morning service, adding: "Oh, this is going to be really hard."
She referenced this quote from Carter: "I have one life and one chance to make it count for something. I'm free to choose that something. ... My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I can, whenever I can, for as long as I can."
"Maybe if we think about it, maybe it's time to pass the baton," Fuller said before leading those gathered in prayer. "Who picks it up, I have no clue. I don't know. Because this baton's going to be a really big one."
Carter, at age 98 the longest-lived American president, had a recent series of short hospital stays. The Carter Center said in a statement Saturday that the 39th president has now "decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention."
In Atlanta, people, some traveling many miles, made the trip to the Carter Center to reflect on the life of the former president on a spring-like Sunday under a sunny sky.
