As the country mourns the death of former President Jimmy Carter, a handful of lucky people in Massachusetts are reflecting on their own experiences meeting him in person.
Bruce Percelay, a Boston real estate mogul, had the chance to meet the late president while serving as the chairman of Habitat for Humanity. Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, were the face of the organization for about three decades.
Percelay was invited for a tour of the Carter home in Plains, Georgia, 16 years ago, and he tells the story of how they met to this day.
"I went to go the bathroom, and there were urinals — it was a very simple place — and I look to my right, and there's Jimmy Carter next to me," Percelay told NBC10 Boston Monday. "It was a little bit of a surprise, but I was able to keep my composure."
Sally Lefebvre will never forget meeting Carter in her neighbor's living room almost 50 years ago in Clinton, Massachusetts. In fact, she kept old newspapers and photos from the peanut farmer-turned-president's 1977 stay all these years.
"I was so delighted to be invited it was a thrill at my age and everybody wanted to be there," Lefebvre said. "I sent a bouquet of green carnations because it was St. Patrick's Day and I had the guy put a bow on it with peanuts."
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In perhaps a lesser-known accomplishment, Carter is credited with cutting the red tape for the craft beer industry.
"Without President Carter's foresight to legalize homebrewing in 1978, Trillium, and thousands of other independent craft breweries across the nation, may not have existed," Esther Tetreault, CEO of Massachusetts-based Trillium Brewing, said in a statement.
Dozens of people stopped by the JFK Library Monday to sign a condolence book and pay their respects. Those who met the 39th president said commanders in chief don't come like the businessman, U.S. Navy officer and human rights activist anymore.
"He was an honest, honest man, and you know what politics is, you know? That's not the game," Lefebvre said.
"I've had the opportunity to meet a number of presidents, and I did find him to be clearly the most genuine, grounded person," Percelay said. "There were no airs at all."
Carter's funeral will be held on Jan. 9 in Washington. President Joe Biden has declared that it will be a national day of mourning.
