Americans are paying respects this week to former President Jimmy Carter, who died last month at the age of 100.

Carter, the longest-living U.S. president, was honored this week with memorial ceremonies in Georgia and at the U.S. Capitol. He will be buried Thursday after an official state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.

PBS News special correspondent Judy Woodruff has covered the former president and his family since the 1970s, when Woodruff was a reporter covering politics in Carter’s home state of Georgia.

Join PBS News’ Deema Zein as Judy Woodruff discusses Carter’s life and legacy on Thursday, January 9, at 1 p.m. EST. Do you have a question? Submit it here.

In a eulogy for former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died in November 2023 at age 96, Woodruff recalled covering the Carters as a young couple and spoke about the former first lady’s work ethic.

“She did so much throughout her life, worked so hard, in the White House and in the many years before and after, advocating for the rights of the underserved, coming to the aid of the most vulnerable and doing everything she could to… “To improve the lives of others: so that she wouldn’t regret not doing everything she could,” Woodruff said.

READ MORE: Remembering the extraordinary life of former President Jimmy Carter

When Woodruff met with the Carters in 2021 as they celebrated 75 years of marriage, she asked Carter what he was most proud of during his time as president.

“Well, we are very proud to have been elected and to have served as president. This, in my opinion, is the epitome of our life in its entirety. And I would say that we have done what we promised ourselves in the election campaign. We kept the peace, we obeyed the law, we told the truth and we respected human rights. Those were things that were important to me,” Carter said.

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