Jimmy And Rosalynn Carter Make Surprise Peanut Festival Appearance

Topline

Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, were seen riding through the Plains Peanut Festival this weekend in a surprise appearance one week before the former president is set to turn 99 years old.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter speaks to the congregation at Maranatha Baptist Church before … [+] teaching Sunday school in his hometown of Plains, Georgia on April 28, 2019.

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Key Facts

The Carters, who celebrated their 77th wedding anniversary this summer, attended the annual festival in their hometown of Plains, Georgia, in a Black SUV, much to the surprise and adoration of the event’s attendees, the Associated Press reported.

Carter, a former peanut farmer himself, was met with renditions of “Happy Birthday” from those at the fair as the couple rode by.

The Carters’ grandson, Josh, last month said it was clear the pair are in their “final chapter” but that the former president is still “very much himself” and his wife, who has dementia, “still knows who we are, for the most part.”

The festival marked the first time Jimmy Carter has been seen in public in more than seven months, since his office in February announced he would receive hospice care following health concerns that included a bout of cancer and multiple falls.

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter walks US President Joe Biden and US first lady Dr. Jill Biden out … [+] after they after visited former US President Jimmy Carter, April 29, 2021, in Plains, Georgia.

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Key Background

James “Jimmy” Carter Jr. was born on a peanut farm in 1924. He served in the U.S. Navy before returning to his family’s farm and becoming an activist in the Democratic party, ultimately serving in the Georgia Senate, and then as governor, and finally as president of the United States. A monument called the Jimmy Carter Peanut Statue was erected in Plains, Georgia, in 1976 to support Carter during his presidential election, and it features a grin modeled after his own. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were married shortly after he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, and their 77-year union is the longest of any presidential marriage. They celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary with a private reception at Plains High School in 2021.

Big Number

Four. Carter is the longest living president by four years. George H. W. Bush, who died in 2018, lived to be 94 years old. Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford both died at 93.

What To Watch For

Carter’s 99th birthday. The former president will hit the milestone on October 1. The Carter Center, founded by the couple in 1982, on Saturday said it expects him to celebrate with peanut butter ice cream.

A man cuts his lawn across from a giant peanut statue featuring former US President Jimmy Carter’s … [+] smile in Plains, Georgia, on February 20, 2023.