Fran Ryan, a central Ohio resident and former staff member in President Jimmy Carter’s administration, remembers her former boss as honest, caring and someone who really worked hard at his job.
Carter died on Sunday at the age of100 in his hometown of Plains, Ga.
“He was very real,” said Ryan, who was also a former Columbus City Council member from 1971 to 1976 and a Franklin County Commissioner from 1983 to 1984. “He really loved people and he took his job so seriously."
Ryan worked as the Midwest regional representative with the U.S. Department of Labor in Chicago during Carter’s entire time as president from 1977 until 1981.
In her position, she kept Carter, who was the 39th U.S. president, informed on what was going on in the region. “At these meetings, you know, we would talk to him and discuss the situation in each one of our regions,” Ryan said. “He was very connected to the people that worked with him."
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Ryan said while in office, former President Carter worked on helping certain causes to improve workers' lives. She said he was very interested in caring for mine workers suffering from black lung. "What I base the successes of those in office on is what they do for the people individually and he really worked hard,” said Ryan.
After leaving the White House, Carter and his wife Rosalynn devoted their lives to public service, creating the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, a private non-profit institution. His work there garnered a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
The Carters also made annual trips to build homes with Habitat for Humanity and several trips abroad as part of the Carter Center’s election monitoring endeavors.
“His public service did not end at the time he left the White House,” said Ryan. “His public service is a lasting effect on this community and all communities.”
