Americans remember former President Carter’s ‘lifetime legacy’ outside National Cathedral memorial

WASHINGTON – Former President Jimmy Carter will be remembered for his kind spirit, faith and humanitarian efforts, viewers outside his funeral at the National Cathedral tell Fox News Digital.

Carter died on December 29 at the age of 100, the only US president to reach the century mark. Since his passing, several memorials have been held for the 39th president, both in DC and Georgia.

Continuing a long-standing tradition, a memorial service was held for Carter at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DCon Thursday, where Fox New Digital spoke to people gathered outside the funeral about the late president’s lasting legacy.

One woman recalled meeting Carter when she was just 7 years old and told Fox News Digital that the affectionate interaction sparked her lifelong love of politics.

JIMMY CARTER WAS A MAN OF FAITH AND THIS IS HOW WE SHOULD BE REMEMBERED

“My mom was a delegate to the 76th Arkansas convention. And she came to Arkansas to campaign, and I met him. And I just remember him being so sweet,” she told Fox News Digital.

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“I think that was the beginning of my love for politics and I know he’s just a really good man. So we wanted to walk and see if we could pay our respects,” she said.

The woman’s husband also reflected on Carter’s legacy.

“What I find interesting about President Carter is that he had a very short political career, right. So no more than 8 or 10 years. But then his lifelong legacy was all the humanitarian efforts that he did for help other people. no one is a stranger,” another individual told Fox. “I want to have a life that reflects the life that he lived, just supporting people and being there for them and making sure that everyone felt a part and no one was an outsider.”

President Biden declared Thursday a National Day of Mourning, meaning many Americans had the day off work. Several of them spent the morning waiting outside the memorial to pay their respects.

“I grew up when he was president, I was basically a kid. But I also followed him over the years because of all the work he’s done with the homeless and building houses,” one viewer told Fox. “I had some good friends in Wisconsin who were part of his church. So I thought, on my day off, I’d take a walk and see if I saw anything.”

A younger DC resident told Fox that while he didn’t experience Carter as president, he had followed his work in the years after the presidency.

“I think he was definitely president before my lifetime. But I think, as always, I’ve heard a lot about his work after the presidency and what he’s done after the fact. I think that’s been something that he’s had a lot of sense. just with Habitat for Humanity and stuff like that, I think that’s generally something I’ll remember him for.”

After the DC memorial, Carter will be flown back to his home state of Georgia, where he will be buried next to his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter.

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Biden, President-elect Trump and former presidents Obama and Clinton attended Thursday’s funeral in DC, the first time all living presidents have come together since former President HW Bush’s funeral in 2018.