Jimmy Carter to be honored with Forever stamp

Former President Carter will be honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a Forever stamp set to go on sale Oct. 1, which would have been his 101st birthday.

“The stamp program celebrates the best in American culture, places and people, and it is difficult to consider a more fitting honoree than former President Jimmy Carter,” Peter Pastre, the Postal Service’s government relations and public policy vice president, said in a statement.

“In his support and leadership of his beloved community, state and nation, he lent his quiet, thoughtful and deliberate energy around causes he believed in, and most certainly in his conduct and accomplishments as a former president, Jimmy Carter truly personified the best in America,” the Postal Service official added.

The stamp was designed by art director Ethel Kessler and will feature a 1982 oil-on-linen painting created as a life study by artist Herbert E. Abrams, the Postal Service said. 

Carter was the country’s longest-living former president before he died in December at age 100.

World dignitaries gathered at his funeral to honor his contributions to the country and global diplomacy through the Camp David Accords and SALT II treaty.

“Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me, and through his life taught me, that strength of character is more than title or the power we hold. It’s the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect,” former President Biden said during Carter’s eulogy. 

“That everyone, and I mean everyone, deserves an even shot. Not a guarantee, but just a shot,” he added.

Carter, who hailed from Plains, Ga., spent decades dedicated to public service both nationally and abroad alongside his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter.

“The Carter family and the Friends of Jimmy Carter are honored to be able to take part in revealing the design for President Carter’s Forever stamp,” Kim Carter Fuller, executive director of the Friends of Jimmy Carter, said in a statement after the stamp’s design was unveiled.

“Together we’ve had the distinct privilege of a front row seat to his life and legacy, and today’s reveal gives the world an opportunity to share his legacy with others on a daily basis.”