Everything about Lillian Gordy Carter totally explained
Bessie Lillian Gordy Carter (
August 15,
1898 –
October 30,
1983) was the mother of former
president of the United States,
Jimmy Carter. She is also known for contribution to
nursing in her home state of
Georgia and as a
Peace Corps volunteer in
India as well as writing two books during the Carter presidency.
Nurse and mother
Bessie Lillian Gordy was born to James Jackson Gordy (1863-1948) and Mary Ida Nicholson (1871-1951) in
Richland, Georgia in 1898. She volunteered to serve as a
nurse with the
US Army in 1917 but the program was cancelled. Instead, she worked for the
US Post Office at Richland before moving to
Plains in 1920 where she was accepted as a trainee at the
Wise Sanatorium before completing her nursing degree at the
Grady Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in
Atlanta in 1923. Lillian's family initially disapproved of her choice of a career in nursing, but she continued her training and became very successful, earning the respect of both the black and white communities.
“Miss Lillian”, as she was often known, wouldn't allow blacks to enter her home through the back-door which was common practice at the time. Instead, she made them enter through the front and would often have them in her living room for casual conversation just as she'd a white neighbor. These conversations would even continue after her husband Earl was to arrive home expecting the guests to depart.
Lillian Carter said that the strongest influence on her
liberal views was her father. James Jackson Gordy, "Jim Jack" operated a
Post Office in Lillian's hometown of
Richland, Georgia and was always cordial and often dined with the black workers. This was very unusual in the early 20th century but Lillian decided that she'd follow her father's example.
She met businessman
James Earl Carter and married him immediately after her graduation. The couple had four children with
U.S. President Jimmy Carter being the eldest child born in 1924. Her other three children were also somewhat famous,
Gloria (1926-1990),
Ruth (1929-1983) and
Billy (1937-1988). While she theoretically retired from nursing in 1925, in reality she worked as what was then called a
nurse practitioner both for the hundreds of employees back in her husband's businesses and for the members of Plains
community. While a religious woman, Carter wasn't a regular attender of church services. After some sisters at the local church organized a
mission trip to
Africa, Carter became upset saying that there was plenty to be done in the US before traveling to another country. She coordinated her own
Bible study at home on Sunday mornings while the rest of the family attended
church.
After the death of her husband from
pancreatic cancer, Lillian Carter left for
Auburn University where she worked for seven and a half years. A year after completing her service at Auburn, Carter managed a
nursing home in
Blakely.
Lillian later became a
social activist, working for
desegregation and illicitly providing medical care to
blacks in
Plains, Georgia.
Peace Corps volunteer
In 1966, at the age of 68, Carter applied for the Peace Corps. After completing a psychiatric evaluation, she received three months of training and was sent to India where she worked at the Godrej Colony from
Mumbai where she worked for 21 months including with lepers.
Emory University established the
Lillian Carter Center for International Nursing in honor of the work she did in India. The Atlanta Regional Office of the Peace Corps has named an award in her honor for volunteers over 50 who make the biggest contribution.
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.former.staycon.lilliancarter
Presidential mother
When Jimmy Carter decided to run for President, his mother was one of the first people he told. While he was initially regarded as a dark horse candidate for the Democratic Party nomination, his election as President meant that his family was well known. Lillian Carter was well known as "Miss Lillian" and she published two books during his Presidency,
Miss Lillian and Friends and
Away from Home: Letters to my Family, both published in 1977. The latter book was a collection of letters to her family sent when she was in India for the Peace Corps.
"Miz Lillian" was a favorite of the
press for her
Southern charm and down-to-earth manner. For reporters and interrogators alike, she always had a warm country sass response for every question. She once remarked :
When I look at my four children sometimes I say to myself, Lillian, you should have stayed a virgin.
In 1977 Miss Lillian appeared in a cameo, as herself, in the made-for-TV movie, "Lucy Calls the President", starring Lucille Ball.
When son Billy Carter's beer business had its ribbon cutting ceremony, a friend questioned Miss Lillian on whether or not she'd attend. She remarked: "I attended Jimmy's inauguration didn't I?"
On the day of Jimmy's inauguration, Miss Lillian was asked if she was proud of her son and she asked blandly, Which one?
Final years and death
Shortly after her eldest son left office in January 1981, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Miss Lillian battled her illness in stride, but the cancer spread. After a period of remission, Lillian Carter's younger daughter, Ruth Stapleton was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April 1983, and died on September 26, 1983, at 54. The grief was too much for Lillian to bear and she herself succumbed only six weeks later on October 30, 1983, at age 85 in Americus, Georgia of breast, bone and pancreatic cancers. Her three surviving children were by her side at her death. Miss Lillian was buried in a simple six minute ceremony at Lebanon Church Cemetery, on November 1, 1983, next to her husband who died 30 years before her.
Two of her other children, Billy Carter and Gloria Spann also died from pancreatic cancer, only the former President hasn't inherited the disease. He has, understandably, become a fund-raiser and booster for research into a cure for the disease.
In 2001, a major nursing centre was dedicated in her honor in Plains by Jimmy Carter in recognition of many years of service to the community as a nurse.
Further Information
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