Longest-Living President Achieves a Historic Milestone 19 Months After Entering Hospice! Jimmy Carter Turns 100

Jimmy Carter has turned 100 years old, achieving a once-unthinkable milestone more than 19 months after entering hospice care.

The 39th president of the United States, who is the oldest living former president and longest-living president in U.S. history, has certainly made the most of the past century.

Whether through his military service, contributions to foreign affairs as president, diplomatic efforts, Sunday school lessons, or volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity well into his 90s, Carter has always aimed to make a meaningful impact.

"I had only one life to live, and I wanted to live it as a civilian, with a potentially fuller opportunity for varied public service," he wrote in his 2010 memoir, White House Diary.

Currently, Carter, who has been in hospice care since February 2023, hopes to accomplish one last goal before he dies. According to his grandson Jason Carter, the former president recently stated, "I’m only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris," as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Though he made a rare public appearance at his late wife Rosalynn Carter’s funeral last November, Carter is "physically limited" and spends his time at home with loved ones.

"This is an important part of his faith journey, and it's one that you don't get to experience at any other -

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time in your life except for the very end," Jason told PEOPLE last September, a few months after his grandfather entered hospice. "And so in that way, I think this has been a really meaningful time for him, and it's been a really reflective time for him."

In September, several stars and loved ones gathered for a tribute concert in Atlanta organized to honor the former president's milestone birthday.

Called "Jimmy Carter 100: A Celebration in Song," the event featured performances from Chuck Leavell, D-Nice, Drive-By Truckers, Eric Church, GROUPLOVE, Maren Morris, The War And Treaty and The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus.

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Jason, who chairs the Carter Center, caught up with PEOPLE at the concert to offer an update on his grandfather's health.

"I mean he’s been in hospice for over 19 months now and he has really physically diminished and can’t do much on his own," Jason told PEOPLE. "But he is emotionally engaged and still having experiences and laughing, loving."

As part of his birthday celebration on Oct. 1, the tribute concert will be streamed on Georgia Public Broadcasting, where President Carter is expected to watch.

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