Jimmy Carter: FOX 4 photojournalist remembers growing up next to former president

Tributes from around the world pour in to remember former president Jimmy Carter for his career in politics, a Nobel Prize winner and a humanitarian.

FOX 4 photojournalist John Gnann knew Carter in a way very few ever did; as a neighbor.

READ MORE: Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States, dies at 100

Growing Up with the Carters

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Gnann grew up next door to Carter in Plains, Georgia and became fast friends with the former president's daughter, Amy.

"It was (Amy), my brother and me. We were the Three Stooges, the musketeers. We ran that town," remembers Gnann.

Gnann says "Mr. Jimmy," as he called him, was a Sunday school teachers at a church in Plains and was mostly a normal, everyday dad.

When Carter was looking for a running mate to join him on the campaign trail and the media gathered outside of the Carter home, the three ran a successful lemonade stand too.

When Carter won the White House, Gnann remembers losing a neighbor.

"When you’re a kid you think that’s just normal, and you’re really focused on how it affects you and how it affected me was my best friend is moving away," he recalled.

The two families remained close during Jimmy Carter's four years in office.

Gnann even spent the night at the White House.

"It was truly evidence that any kid that’s born in this country could someday become president," he said.

He remembers Carter always had a witty comment at the ready and his knowledge was endless.

"He was brilliant at making people feel noticed and known and he was brilliant at his perception of things and his knowledge. Just brilliant, a star," remembered Gnann.

It was Gnann's father that first introduced the Carters to Habitat for Humanity.

In 2014, at the age of 90, Jimmy Carter worked alongside volunteers to build a home in Oak Cliff.

"What made them extraordinary was the hard work, the determination and the drive," Gnann said.

It's a legacy that Gnann believes will continue to inspire others.

"If you worked hard and surround yourself with people that have similar goals, you can achieve the greatest thing," he said.

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