At Jimmy Carter library in Atlanta, visitors pay homage to 'a people's president'

A drizzle pattered on the roof of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum's covered walkway on Tuesday while visitors funneled into the entrance of the Atlanta museum.

Visitors walked among shrubs and early-spring flowering trees before entering the library and museum that opened in October 1986 and is dedicated to honoring the nation's 39th president and former governor of Georgia.

In case you missed it: Former President Jimmy Carter enters hospice care at 98, charity says

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter entered hospice at 98 years old on Saturday, according to a statement by The Carter Center, a nonprofit founded by Carter's wife Rosalynn in 1982. Since then, the Carter Presidential Library and Museum at 441 John Lewis Freedom Parkway, NE, has received an influx of visitors looking to celebrate his legacy.

Carter's presidential library serves as a research facility and museum that houses approximately 27 million pages of his administration's White House materials as well as documents, photographs, film, audio and video of his life.

Carter's U.S. Navy service

"(Near) President's Day is a good time to reflect on one of our great leaders who made such good contributions to the U.S.," Willie Woods said.

A veteran and Atlanta resident, Woods said he brought his daughter to the Carter Library and Museum to learn about the former president.

For Woods, Carter was "a people's president, not like the presidents we get now." He read the informational panels lining the walls thoroughly, prodding his daughter to look into a model submarine periscope to see pictures reflecting Carter's service in the U.S. Navy.

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'A long life'

Despite living in Atlanta for many years, Jayne Thraen had never been to the museum.On a rainy Tuesday, the library seemed like just the place to visit.

The news of Carter's deteriorating health wasn't Thraen's and her friend Mary Jo McClellan's primary reason for checking out the presidential library, but they were looking forward to learning more about his legacy.

"I think it's sad, but he lived a long life and obviously accomplished many wonderful things in his time," McClellan said of Carter entering hospice care. "I was just reading all about his military career. That was a complete surprise to me. I guess I knew he was from Plains, Georgia and was the governor and became president, but I never realized how high up he was in the Navy."

Carter was a lieutenant when he left Navy in 1961, according to the library.

Carter's legacy

"The thing is, he was in my opinion much more successful as a civilian than he ever was as a president," Chris Hancock said. Carter's legacy after his presidency has marked him as a staunch humanitarian, notably for his contributions to Habitat for Humanity well into his later years.

Visiting from California, Hancock and his sons perused the brightly lit Oval Office replica where a voice-over of Carter played on loudspeakers.

If he's being honest, Hancock said, were he a voter at the time Carter was in office, 1977-1981, he wouldn't have voted for Carter. He and the former president have competing political views. But he believes that with every president, even the ones you disagree with, deserve to be honored for holding the nation's highest office.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: At Jimmy Carter library, visitors pay homage to the 39th president