Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County to honor President Carter through memorial service
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- It's been one week since former U.S. President Jimmy Carter passed away at age 100.
Now, Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County is paying tribute with a memorial service.
"Having been a former pastor and done quite a few funerals, I know how important closure is. This helps people have some closure to say thank you to remember the character qualities of President Carter and what he meant to so many people," President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Jim Williams said.
The ceremony will take place on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Fields at Highland subdivision in Mishawaka at the corner of Jefferson and Byrkit.
The public is invited to pay their respects by leaving their names and personal messages on a framed memorial wall and door. Wiliams says this will be used in a future house build.
The ceremony will include a word from two habitat families currently living in this neighborhood, expressing their gratitude and appreciation.
A candlelight vigil will take place as the sun sets.
The evening before his funeral, families in the neighborhood will honor the former President by placing candles on their front porches.
Both Carter and his wife Rosalynn first volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in 1984. Since then, they worked alongside more than 104,000 volunteers across the U.S. and in 14 countries to build, renovate, and repair 4,390 homes.
The former President and Mrs. Carter paid a visit to Mishawaka in 2018 to help build a 76-home subdivision as part of the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project.
"President Carter's legacy lives in the lives of the families that now live in those houses. When I think about that enduring legacy, that legacy is carried on in their children and their grandchildren. Some of those kids that grow up in those houses, one day they might inherit those houses or the seeds, the dream of homeownership has been planted in their heart and mind and they're going to be future homeowners because of the impact of President and Mrs. Carter in what they did helping us build that neighborhood in 2018," Williams said.