Married to Kate Lewis Carter, Jason Carter followed in his grandfather’s footsteps with his election to the Georgia State Senate, where he served from 2015 to 2020. In 2014, he mounted an unsuccessful bid for Georgia governor, losing to Republican Nathan Deal. In 1995, Jimmy and Amy published The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer, based on a story Jimmy used to tell her when she was a child. “Once upon a time there was a little boy named Jeremy who lived with his mother in a small house near the sea. His mother earned a bare living for the two of them by washing clothes for some of the wealthy families in their town.
The Carters have 25 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Her funeral in Atlanta was attended by all living first ladies as well as President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, former president Bill Clinton, and members of Congress. It’s easy to confuse Jimmy Carter’s daughter with one-time Georgia House Rep. Amy Carter of Valdosta, though there is no relation to Jimmy Carter. Rep. Amy Carter is a Democrat-turned-Republican who represented the 175th district from 2008 to 2017. She does advocate for human rights and diplomacy, as a member of the board of counselors for The Carter Center. She moved into the White House at the age of nine, making her one of the youngest children to live there since John F. Kennedy’s children were younger than 5 when he took office.
- Amy Carter, the only daughter of former President Jimmy Carter, was born in 1967, in Plains, Georgia.
- After their first date, Jimmy told his mother, “She’s the girl I want to marry,” according to the White House.
- The couple would have their second son on April 12, 1950, in Honolulu, where Jimmy was stationed during his naval service.
How Long Have Amy and John Been Married?
In 2007, she remarried John Joseph “Jay” Kelly, and they have a son, Errol (b. 2010).
Amy Carters White House Childhood
- Since then, she’s grown into an accomplished woman while attempting to retreat into a private life.
- In addition to Amy, the former president and first lady also have three sons—John William “Jack” Carter, 76, James Earl “Chip” Carter III, 73 and Donnel Jeffrey “Jeff” Carter, 71.
- “While I am away, I try to convince myself that you really are not, could not be as sweet and beautiful as I remember,” she continued to read.
- Little is known about him or their marriage as Amy as attempted to keep out of the public spotlight following her years of activism.
The news of the 39th president’s passing was confirmed by his son, James E. Carter III, who goes by Chip, in a statement. Atlanta News First and Atlanta News First+ provide you with the latest news, headlines and insights as we look at the life and accomplishments of Georgia’s favorite son. Download our Atlanta News First app for the latest political news and information.
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Now 56, Amy is a mom, an artist and a human rights advocate but she’s rarely in the spotlight today after living out her youth and young adulthood in front of the media. In addition to Amy, the former president and first lady also have three sons—John William “Jack” Carter, 76, James Earl “Chip” Carter III, 73 and Donnel Jeffrey “Jeff” Carter, 71. Amy, now 57, lives in the Atlanta area with her family; husband John Joseph “Jay” Kelly and sons Hugo (b. 1999) and Errol (b. 2010).
They married in 1975 during Carter’s presidential campaign and lived in the White House for the first years of their marriage. Together, they shared four children, 11 grandchildren (one grandson died in 2018), and 14 great-grandchildren. Among the couple’s many grandchildren are Jason James Carter, son of Jack Carter.
She remains a board member of The Carter Center, but she has otherwise stayed out of public life. They later divorced, and she married John Joseph “Jay” Kelly in 2007. Amy became a political activist in the ’80s and ’90s, and she was even arrested at a CIA recruitment protest, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The longest-lived Commander-in-Chief celebrated a major milestone in October when he celebrated his 100th birthday, becoming the first-ever president to do so. “My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights and unselfish love. She subsequently graduated with Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Memphis College of Art in 1991, and then a master’s degree in art history from Tulane in 1996. According to Business Insider, Amy and John share one son, Errol Carter Kelly. John also has a stepson — Amy and her first husband, Wentzel, share son Hugo James Wentzel. After her time in the White House, she remained active in humanitarian work with the establishment of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers and a longtime partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
“We have a big family now. We have 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, 38 of us in all,” Jimmy previously said on The Lead with Jake Tapper. “So, we try to hold our family together and just enjoy the family life.” Former president Jimmy Carter died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024.
Jack struggled with college when he first entered, as he attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, and then Georgia Southwestern University before his father suggested he join the Navy. Rosalynn and Jimmy welcomed their eldest son on July 3, 1947, while the former President was serving in the Navy. He grew up in the Plains, Georgia, working on the family’s peanut farm before heading off to college. “(Rosalynn Carter) still knows who we are, for the most part, that we are family,” Joshua Carter said shortly after his grandmother had been diagnosed with dementia.
Is Amy Carter’s husband, Jay Kelly, in a wheelchair?
“And he says that his companion that shared the pot with him was one of the servants in the White House. That is not exactly true — it actually was one of my sons, which he didn’t want to categorize as a pot-smoker like him.” The couple would have their second son on April 12, 1950, in Honolulu, where Jimmy was stationed during his naval service. Like his brother, he worked in john joseph kelly and amy carter the family’s peanut warehouse before being elected to the Plains City Council and working on the Democratic National Committee. He married the Senator’s daughter Juliette “Judy” Langford, welcoming son Jason James and daughter Sarah Rosemary together. The couple resided in Calhoun until 1981, before moving to Chicago where he worked for Citibank and the Chicago Board of Trade.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter had 4 kids and 25 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Meet their family.
Amy’s son, Hugo James Wentzel, and stepson, Errol Carter Kelly, have attended public events with their grandparents, but they have otherwise kept a low profile. In 2006, Jack ran for a Nevada seat in the US Senate, the first major office the Carter family has sought since 1980. He earned the Democratic nomination, but was unsuccessful against an incumbent Republican senator in the general election.
