Rosalynn Carter tributes will highlight her reach as first lady, humanitarian and small-town Baptist
AMERICUS, Georgia — Rosalynn Carter will make her final trip to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center on Monday as her family begins three days of memorials for the former first lady and global humanitarian who died on November 19 at the age of 96.
After brief ceremonies in Sumter County, the Carters’ hometown in South Georgia, Rosalynn Carter’s remains will travel by motorcade to Atlanta, where she will lie in repose at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum.
The library is open from 6pm to 10pm, offering the public the most direct opportunity to pay their respects during the three-day tribute. Two funerals, scheduled for Tuesday in Atlanta and Wednesday in the Carters’ small hometown of Plains, are for invited guests.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, longtime friends of the Carters, are leading the dignitaries expected to attend the service in Atlanta. Motorcade routes are open throughout the schedule. Rosalynn Carter’s funeral Wednesday in Plains will be private.
It is not known whether the former president, who is 99 and in his tenth month in hospice care, will participate in the events. People close to his immediate family have said he will do everything he can as he grieves his partner of more than 77 years.
The schedule, a product of detailed planning involving the former first couple, reflects the breadth of Rosalynn Carter’s interests and impact. That includes her advocacy for better mental health treatment and care delivery, her role as Jimmy Carter’s closest advisor and her status as matriarch of the Plains and Maranatha Baptist Church, where she and the former president held various positions after leaving the White House. 1981.
“People all over the world are celebrating her life,” said Kim Fuller, the Carters’ niece, as she taught a Bible class in Maranatha on Sunday. “And of course we are now entering a week where we will celebrate even more.”
A detailed schedule is available online. Events are streamed and broadcast by independent media.
Some well-wishers began honoring Rosalynn Carter shortly after her death, including an increase in visitors to the Presidential Center campus.
“Mental health is being talked about more openly” because of Rosalynn Carter’s work to reduce the stigma attached to the conditions, said Brendan Green, a Chicago college counselor.
“She was a pioneer in that field,” Green said. “What a great legacy.”
Formal ceremonies begin Monday at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, near Plains. Rosalynn Carter’s remains will be transferred there to a hearse, accompanied by members of her Secret Service, past and present. A motorcade will travel to Georgia Southwestern State University, where the former first lady graduated in 1946 when it was Georgia Southwestern College.
A wreath laying ceremony will take place at the Rosalynn Carter Health and Human Sciences Complex on campus, attended by the current leadership of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving. She founded the institute to advocate for the millions of unpaid caregivers in American households.
The column then leaves for Atlanta. A brief rest service is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. — before public access — once her remains arrive at the Carter Presidential Center.
The campus, near downtown, includes the library and museum, and the Carter Center. The former first couple founded the center in 1982 to defend democracy, mediate in international conflicts and combat disease in developing countries. Their work around the world has redefined what former residents of the White House can do after relinquishing political power.
The streets around campus are closed on Monday. Parking and shuttle service are available at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 435 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta.
The largest service will be held Tuesday at Glenn Memorial Church on the Emory University campus. Emory helped the former first couple establish The Carter Center. In addition to the Bidens, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, have announced plans to attend. Other former first ladies and possibly former presidents are also expected to attend.
Glenn is a Methodist church. The Carters were married in 1946 at the Plains Methodist Church, where Rosalynn Carter grew up. During their marriage she joined her husband as a Baptist.
Her final services in Maranatha will reflect their small-town Protestant roots: Church members are invited and will also share a funeral meal with the Carter family on the day of the service.
During her Sunday school hour, Fuller reminded her fellow Maranatha members that they are expected to provide dessert. “Whatever you want to bring is fine,” Fuller told them as she explained the delivery instructions. “Spread the word if you don’t mind.”
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Associated Press reporter Sudhin Thanawala contributed from Atlanta.