Rosalynn Carter Practiced Tai Chi with a Sword, Says Grandson Jason: ‘She Was a Cool Grandma’

While Rosalynn Carter was many things — a former first lady and lauded mental health advocate among them — to Jason Carter, she was first and foremost a grandmother. And a cool one, at that.

“She was my grandmother first,” said Jason, the son of Jack Carter and Judy Langford, in remarks delivered at Tuesday's tribute ceremony for Rosalynn.

He continued: “And she was like everybody else's grandmother in a lot of ways. Almost all of her recipes call for mayonnaise, for example. We all got cards from her on our birthdays with a $20 bill in it.” 

Jason, who currently chairs the Carter Center, used his time to reminisce about sweet moments that illustrate how humble Rosalynn was, such as the time when the family was on a flight and sitting in the back of the airplane.

“The plane took off and we looked over and my grandmother took out this Tupperware of pimiento cheese and this loaf of bread and she just started making sandwiches," he recalled. "She gave them to all of us grandkids and then she started giving them to other people on the plane.” 

He continued: "And people were just sitting there like, 'Rosalynn Carter just made me this sandwich!' You know? They couldn't believe it. But she loved people."

More than anything, Jason said, Rosalynn was "a cool grandma." So cool, in fact, that she wasn't afraid to engage in physical activities that veered into the dangerous.

"She was cool, like she did tai chi with a sword," Jason said, to laughs from the attendees, adding: “She was so down to earth, y'all, it was amazing."

Rosalynn was diagnosed with dementia in May, and entered hospice care just two days before her death on Nov. 19 at age 96.

According to a news release from The Carter Center, she died "peacefully" at her longtime Plains, Georgia, home "with her family by her side."

Her husband Jimmy, 99, terminated medical intervention in February amid his own health challenges, and had been in hospice care at home prior to Tuesday's ceremony, during which he made an appearance, flanked by two of his and Rosalynn's children — Jack, Chip, Jeff and Amy — on either side.

In addition to sharing readings and fond memories during the service, the couple's grandchildren served as honorary pallbearers.

Speaking to PEOPLE in September, Jason admitted that 2023 had been challenging as both Jimmy and Rosalynn navigated health issues, but also "a real blessing" for the family, "because it's given us this ability to reflect on our personal relationships and experience the outpouring from around the world for [Jimmy] and for [Rosalynn] and for them as a couple."

Jason added that, despite their declining health, Rosalynn and Jimmy's love for one another had not faded throughout the year. "They are definitely still there for each other," he said in the September interview. "They are in love at home together and at peace with whatever comes. ... That love story that really defines their life continues to define it."