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Jimmy Carter's state funeral has started. Here's what to know

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Jimmy Carter's state funeral has started. Here's what to know
January 5, 2025
Article Body Text ATLANTA, GEORGIA — Six days of funeral observances for former President Jimmy Carter began Saturday in Georgia, where he died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100. The first events reflected Carter's climb up the political ladder, from the tiny town of Plains, Georgia, to decades on the global stage as a humanitarian and advocate for democracy. Here is what to know about the initial ceremonies and what happens next: The start honors Carter's deep roots in rural south Georgia The proceedings began at 10:15 a.m. local time Saturday with the Carter family arriving at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus. Former Secret Service agents who protected Carter served as pallbearers, walking alongside the hearse as it exited the campus on its way to Plains. James Earl Carter Jr. lived more than 80 of his 100 years in and around the town, which still has fewer than 700 people, not much more than when he was born on Oct. 1, 1924. Some other modern presidents — Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton — also grew up in small-town settings but Carter stands out for returning and remaining in his birthplace for his long post-presidency. The motorcade moved through downtown Plains, which spans just a few blocks, passing near the girlhood home of former first lady Rosalynn Smith Carter, who died in November 2023 at the age of 96, and near where the couple operated the family peanut warehouses. The route also included the old train depot that served as Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential campaign headquarters and the gas station once run by Carter's younger brother, Billy. The motorcade passed by the Methodist church where the Carters married in 1946, and the home where they lived and died. The former president will be buried there alongside Rosalynn. The Carters built the one-story house, now surrounded by Secret Service fencing, before his first state Senate campaign in 1962 and lived out their lives there with the exception of four years in the Governor's Mansion and four more in the White House. A stop at Carter's boyhood home — a blend of privilege, hard work After going through Plains, the procession stopped in front of Carter's family farm and boyhood home in Archery, just outside the town, after passing the cemetery where the former president's parents, James Earl Carter Sr. and Lillian Carter, are buried. The farm now is part of the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park. The National Park Service rang the old farm bell 39 times to honor the 39th president. Carter was the first president born in a hospital. But the home had no electricity or running water when he was born, and he worked his father's land during the Great Depression. Still, the Carters had relative privilege and status. Earl employed Black tenant farming families. The elder Carter also owned a store in Plains and was a local civic and political leader. Lillian was a nurse and she delivered Rosalynn. The property still includes a tennis court Earl had built for the family. It was Earl's death in 1953 that set Jimmy on course toward the Oval Office. The younger Carters had left Plains after he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. But Jimmy abandoned a promising career as a submarine officer and early participant in the Pentagon's nuclear program to take over the family's peanut business after his father's death. Within a decade, he was elected to the Georgia state Senate. Lying in repose in Atlanta, where Carter was a politician and global figure From Archery, the motorcade headed north to Atlanta. The military-run motorcade stopped outside the Georgia Capitol, where Carter served as a state senator from 1963-67 and governor from 1971-75. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens led a moment of silence. While former governors are honored with state-run funerals, presidents — even if they served as governors — are memorialized with national rites run by the federal government. The motorcade then proceeded to the Carter Presidential Center, which includes Carter's presidential library and The Carter Center, established by the former president and first lady in 1982. Carter's son, James Earl "Chip" Carter III, and his grandson, Jason Carter, spoke to an assembly that included many Carter Center employees whose work concentrating on international diplomacy and mediation, election monitoring, and fighting disease in the developing world continues to set a standard for what former presidents can accomplish. Jimmy Carter, who delivered the center's annual reports until 2019, won the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize in part for this post-presidential work. Carter was scheduled to lie in repose from 7 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Tuesday, with the public able to pay respects around the clock. What's next: A return to Washington Carter's remains will travel next to Washington, where he will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda until his funeral at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Washington National Cathedral. All the living presidents have been invited, and Joe Biden, a Carter ally, will deliver a eulogy. Biden also signed a bill to name a U.S. Postal Service facility in Plains after Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. The Carter family then will return to bury its patriarch in Plains after a private hometown funeral at 3:45 p.m. at Maranatha Baptist Church, where Carter, a devout evangelical, taught Sunday School for decades. Carter will be buried afterward in a private graveside service, in a plot visible from the front porch of his home.
Content Type Text
Language English
NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing Available No
Network VOA
Embargo Date January 4, 2025 23:10 EST
Byline Associated Press
Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English