Three days after the Jan. 6 anniversary, with its indelible images of costumed rioters running amok in the Capitol, former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral service in the National Cathedral presented a historical picture of a different kind, one that spoke not of upended norms, but of preservation and strength.

Jimmy Carter was the first U.S. president to live to be 100 years old — a feat made even more incredible by the fact that he was alive for 40% of the nation’s history. When Carter was born in 1924, former President Calvin Coolidge was nearing the end of his first term and was just a month away from his second presidential election.