SAN DIEGO — Stories of kindness and generosity have been flooding traditional and social media since the news hit about former President Jimmy Carter receiving hospice care at home.
A Mira Mesa man has a unique bond with President Carter. It's a friendship carved from common interests and shared experiences.
“Mine doesn't have anything to do with politics it's all about creativity and art and woodworking and passion,” said Russ Filbeck.
The two woodworkers carved their friendship in 2004 when Filbeck called the Carter Center and asked if the former president would write the forward in his book, Making Ladder Back Chairs with Russ Filbeck.
“He answered the phone and said, ‘Hello this is Jimmy Carter’ and he said, ‘I've been so anxious to talk to you.’ I couldn't believe it,” said Filbeck.
From there, it’s been a relationship crafted with love and philanthropy.
The woodworker author and his wife, Carol, said they’ve helped raise two million dollars for The Carter Center.
“These chairs are part of a dining set that he and I built to raise money for The Carter Center,” said Filbeck.
CBS 8 visited Filbeck at his shop which is inside his garage in Mira Mesa. Over the years Carter and his wife, Rosalyn would visit San Diego.
“When President Carter was here he looked around my shop and said, ‘I could stay here all day, this just feels like home and my shop,’” said Filbeck.
As Filbeck reminisced about Carter, he rubbed the arms of his cherry wood rocking chair.
“He sat down in it and started rubbing the arms and said, ‘if you don't mind I'm going to take this chair to my home in Plains’ and I said, ‘I don't mind,’” said Filbeck.
He commemorated their years of teamwork with this bronze sculptures of their hands.
“I have his right hand and he has my right hand,” said Filbeck.
The two woodworkers have more than just their craft in common. They both served as submariners in the U.S. Navy.
“You feel this sense of brotherhood,” said Filbeck. “I'm delighted to wear this hat today on Presidents Day,” said Filbeck.
Under the U.S.S. Jimmy Carter hat is a proud friend who has one last wish for Carter.
“He told me, ‘I just want to live longer than the last Guinea Worm. I truly hope that happens for him because he so deserves that,” said Filbeck.
From his shaker boxes to handcrafted ladder back chairs, Filbeck’s sculpted more than a friendship with President Carter, he helped carve out a piece of history.
“Just knowing he what and Rosalyn have done for humanity and to know that I was just a little bit part of their life and support what they have done,” said Filbeck.
The local woodworker also taught at Palomar College and is a member of the San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association, known to be one of the largest woodworking guilds in the country.
WATCH RELATED: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter in San Diego 1990
WATCH RELATED: President Jimmy Carter visits San Diego in 1979