Former President Jimmy Carter died Sunday, Dec. 29, at 100 years old. His death came just over a year after the death of his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter.

Perhaps Carter’s most revealing poem, “I Wanted to Share My Father’s World,” concerns the man who never got to see his namesake son’s achievements. He wrote that he despised Earl’s discipline, and swallowed hunger for “just a word of praise.”

The Carters met and raised their family in Plains, Ga. and returned to their beloved hometown after Jimmy's presidency

The Carters, who long put their faith into action, were in Milwaukee in June 1989 as part of a Habitat for Humanity project building homes. They, along with scores of volunteers, hammered, sawed and painted to construct six homes near North 23rd and West Walnut streets.

"From the Plains Peanut Festival to the Governor’s Mansion, to the White House—and to communities around the globe—they remained grounded and humble, and Plains always remained home in their hearts.”

The public will be able to pay their respects to the 39th president at the U.S. Capitol until his state funeral Thursday morning.

Members of Congress, the Supreme Court and other dignitaries will gather at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday for a lying-in-state ceremony for former President Jimmy Carter.

Thursday will be a National Day of Mourning. And we should be mourning. Not the death of Jimmy Carter at 100, but that his life seems so foreign today.

“Jimmy Carter was always an outsider ,” said biographer Jonathan Alter, explaining how Carter capitalized on the fallout of the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal that toppled Richard Nixon. “The country was thirsting for moral renewal and for Carter, as this genuinely religious figure, to come in and clean things up."

Grandchildren Jason Carter and James Carter IV have continued the family's legacy, with Jason serving as chairman of The Carter Center’s board and James gaining attention for a pivotal video in the 2012 presidential race.