Former US Sen. Joe Donnelly reflects on legacy of President Jimmy Carter
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Former U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly believes the coming days, following the death of former President Jimmy Carter, will be a celebration of one of the most extraordinary lives in U.S. history.
“If not world history,” Donnelly told News 8’s Tim Spears.
Carter, who spent his life after leaving office in service to humanitarian causes, visited St. Joseph County, Indiana, in 2018 for Habitat for Humanity’s Carter Work Project.
Donnelly’s meeting with Carter during that build left a lasting impression.
“What he said is, ‘You always feel the best and know you’re doing the best when you can be helping others,’ and that was what Jimmy Carter was about,” Donnelly said.
“It’s a staggering, staggering legacy that he and [his late wife Rosalynn Carter] have left to us.”
Much of Carter’s work was motivated by being a Christian. He regularly taught Sunday school lessons until his mobility declined in recent years. Donnelly sees Carter’s follow-through on his beliefs as one of the former president’s lasting lessons.
“I think you can take away a deep faith that he had,” Donnelly said. “That drove the decisions that he made in so many ways. That God put him here and he was required to do his best.”
Jimmy Carter was the nation’s 39th President. He died Sunday, nearly two years after entering hospice care. He was 100.