English Professor Recalls Meeting Former President Jimmy Carter

‘He responded often’: English professor recalls meeting former President Jimmy Carter

FUNERAL, AND THEN IT WILL BE SENT TO HIS PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY MANY PEOPLE IN OUR AREA ARE ALSO MOURNING THE LOSS OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT.. 40-29’S JACOB MURPHY IS LIVE IN FORT SMITH WITH HOW ONE PROFESSOR THERE WILL áALWAYSá BE CONNECTED TO THE FORMER PRESIDENT. JACOB? TODAY I SAT DOWN WITH PROFESSOR KEVIN JONES. THIS IS HIM BACK IN 2011, AND HIS WIFE, SON, STANDING WITH FORMER FIRST LADY ROSALYNN CARTER AND FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER. JONES TOLD ME THAT THE CARTERS TREATED THEM LIKE THEY WERE FAMILY IN THE SHORT TIME THEY SPENT TOGETHER. KEVIN JONES // UAFS PROFESSOR “History has always been a sideline for me.” KEVIN JONES HAS BEEN A HISTORY BUFF HIS WHOLE LIFE. KEVIN JONES // UAFS PROFESSOR “It’s always been a hobby, great interest.” WHEN HE WAS WORKING TO GET HIS P- H-D, HE NEEDED TO COMPLETE HIS DOCTORAL DISSERTATION. KEVIN JONES // UAFS PROFESSOR “The research, the writing, the re-dos.” FOCUSING ON THE WORK OF FORMER PRESIDENTS INCLUDING JIMMY CARTER. KEVIN JONES // UAFS PROFESSOR “I wrote a list of questions to several presidents, and he was the only one who responded, and he responded in depth, and he responded often.” WHAT HAPPENED NEXT WAS UNEXPECTED TO SAY THE LEAST. KEVIN JONES // UAFS PROFESSOR “Then as I neared graduation, suddenly an invitation came in the mail from Dr Hockman and President Carter, and said, come down to Plains, Georgia.” SO, JONES, ALONG WITH HIS WIFE AND SON MADE THE TRIP. KEVIN JONES // UAFS PROFESSOR “We followed Mrs. Carter to a back hallway, and she did this, and we went around the corner.” TO MEET JIMMY CARTER. KEVIN JONES // UAFS PROFESSOR “She said, Jimmy’s here, and he wants to talk to you. And I said, Yes, ma’am.” THERE IT WAS, FACE… KEVIN JONES // UAFS PROFESSOR “Former president and leader of the free world I’m talking to.” TO FACE.. KEVIN JONES // UAFS PROFESSOR “My wife Maggie, Mrs. Carter, Mr. Carter, my son Patrick, and myself.” WITH JIMMY CARTER. KEVIN JONES // UAFS PROFESSOR “They treated us like we’d known them our whole lives. And I just think that’s the people they were. And we should, we should reflect on that, and we should be appreciative of that.” PROFESSOR JONES’ WIFE ALSO HAD A JIMMY CARTER STORY.. WHEN SHE WAS 9 SHE WROTE TO HIM AND GOT A LETTER BACK – AND ANOTHER ONE WITH AN INVITE TO THE INAGURAL BALL

‘He responded often’: English professor recalls meeting former President Jimmy Carter

Kevin Jones, an English professor at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, spent several years in the early 2000s researching former presidents for his doctoral dissertation on his way to earning his Ph.D.Jones reached out to Jimmy Carter for help on the dissertation.“I wrote a list of questions to several presidents, and he was the only one who responded, and he responded in-depth, and he responded often,” Jones said.Before graduating, Jones received a letter from Carter in the mail, inviting him and his family to meet the former president in Georgia.”An invitation came in the mail from President Carter and said, come down to Plains, Georgia,” Jones said. “My family and I, my wife and my son, we went.”Jones and his family first met with former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and then were introduced to the former president.“They treated us like we’d known them our whole lives,” Jones said. “I just think that’s the people they were, and we should reflect on that, and we should be appreciative of that.”

FORT SMITH, Ark. —

Jones reached out to Jimmy Carter for help on the dissertation.

“I wrote a list of questions to several presidents, and he was the only one who responded, and he responded in-depth, and he responded often,” Jones said.

Before graduating, Jones received a letter from Carter in the mail, inviting him and his family to meet the former president in Georgia.

“An invitation came in the mail from President Carter and said, come down to Plains, Georgia,” Jones said. “My family and I, my wife and my son, we went.”

Jones and his family first met with former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and then were introduced to the former president.

“They treated us like we’d known them our whole lives,” Jones said. “I just think that’s the people they were, and we should reflect on that, and we should be appreciative of that.”

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