Jimmy Carter: Family affair to the White House and beyond

By BILL BARROW
Associated Press

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — When Jimmy Carter stepped onto the national stage, he brought along those closest to him, introducing Americans to a colorful Georgia family that helped shape the 39th president’s public life and now, generations later, is rallying around him for the private final chapter of his 98 years. “Family has always been important to Uncle Jimmy,” said Kim Fuller, whose father, Billy Carter, was the former president’s youngest brother and a favorite subject of national political reporters drawn to this family of Washington outsiders. Generations after his White House campaign, a large extended family has given Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, now 95, a constant stream of visitors as the former president receives end-of-life care.