Jimmy Carter was the first U.S. president to live to be 100 years old — a feat made even more incredible by the fact that he was alive for 40% of the nation’s history.

Carter, who has rarely used his full name — James Earl Carter Jr, was born Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. Gerald Ford, the Michigan native who was the 38th president after succeeding Richard Nixon, who had resigned the post, died Dec. 26, 2006. At the time of his death he was the longest-living president at age 93.

Jimmy Carter’s grandson, Jason Carter, said in a touching eulogy that the former president reecently expressed he was 'ready to see' his late wife Rosalynn Carter again

Jason Carter remembered his grandfather as a man of God and a man of the people at his Jimmy Carter's state funeral.

Jason Carter, the former president’s grandson who now chairs The Carter Center governing board, memorialized his grandfather with a blend of personal touches and humor, recognition of Jimmy Carter’s intensity and ambition,