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Grandson of former President Jimmy Carter reflects on his grandfather's legacy

Jason Carter recalls how faith helped guide his grandfather through life, both as president and as the boy who grew up in Plains, Georgia.

Jason Carter, grandson of the late former President Jimmy Carter, reflects on his grandfather's legacy. (Scripps News)

File photo of President Jimmy Carter being accompanied by his wife Rosalynn, daughter Amy, and grandson Jason.

By: Scripps News Staff

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Jason Carter, grandson of the late former President Jimmy Carter, has a lot of stories about the man he called paw-paw.

"He's be in his woodshop literally in a t-shirt and Crocs," Jason recalled to Scripps News. "He has things that he does that we're all just like 'awe, geeze paw-paw.' And the thing to me that is the most incredible about them is how little they change."

Over the years, Jason has unofficially taken the role of family storyteller. From eulogizing his late grandmother, Rosalynn Carter, last November, to now remembering Georgia's favorite son.

"We all have this remarkable power and some of us are put in positions to be able to use all of it," Jason said. "And he got one of those opportunities and he took enormous advantage of it."

From his faith in the Atlanta braves to his faith in America, faith was Carter's north star, combined with his love for homemade caramel cake and his late wife Rosalynn.

"When my grandmother passed, we though for sure that that was — that he was finished," Jason recalled. "I know that he was proud at that moment that he made it to the end with her, and for her."

In October, President Carter turned 100 years old and tributes poured in from around the world. But his biggest legacy is the work being done by the Carter Center, the nonprofit he and Rosalynn founded in 1982 to promote and protect human rights around the globe.

And for 40 years, The Carter Center has taken action to eradicate the Guinea worm — a disease passed by drinking contaminated water that once had 3.5 million cases per year. The number of cases reported in 2023: 13.

Paige Alexander, CEO of The Carter Center, said despite being president of the United States, Carter saw himself as a normal guy.

"He was a true Renaissance man, but he didn't see himself that way," she told Scripps News. "He just saw himself as an American."

"It's a perfect testament to the fact that this worm, this horrible disease, is no more," Jason added.

However, in the last few years, Carter realized that spreading small-town care and honesty was needed here, too.

In 2020, in the wake of unrest spreading across the nation, The Carter Center began investing in democracy by encouraging Americans to get educated on political issues and to get out and vote.

"Right now, everybody feels nervous about the way our political system at home has been run down and how many people have lost faith in that political system," Jason said. "But I think the fundamental fact of my grandfather's sort of grounding is his faith in the American people. That faith is one that I share and it really keeps me going even in these moments."

It was faith that propelled a life of service. And it's faith, Jason hopes, will build an American democracy stronger that his grandfather ever dreamed possible.