Jimmy Carter’s state funeral begins in Georgia with procession and service

Jimmy Carter’s funeral procession began Saturday in South Georgia, where the 39th U.S. president’s life began more than a century ago.

A motorcade carrying Carter’s flag-draped casket left the Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, escorted by former Secret Service agents who once protected him.

These officers served as pallbearers and walked alongside the hearse as it left campus.

The Carter family – including his four children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren – joined the procession as it traveled through Plains, Carter’s beloved hometown, and past his childhood home on its way to Atlanta.

Carter died on December 29 at his home in Plains at the age of 100.

In downtown Plains, families lined the procession route near the historic train depot that served as the headquarters of Carter’s presidential campaign.

Many carried flowers or wore pins with his photo on them.

A bell was rung 39 times to signify that Carter was serving as the 39th President of the United States.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, who passed away in November 2023, were both born in Plains and spent much of their lives there, apart from Jimmy’s Navy service and his political career as Governor of Georgia and President of the US.

Former US President Jimmy Carter has died at his home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 100

The procession stopped at Carter’s childhood home on the family farm outside Plains, where the National Park Service rang the old farm bell 39 times in honor of his presidency.

From there, Carter’s remains continued on to Atlanta for a moment of silence at the Georgia Capitol and a ceremony at the Carter Presidential Center.

“We want to pay our respects,” 12-year-old Will Porter Shelbrock said WTOP Newswho was born decades after Carter left office in 1981. Shelbrock traveled with his grandmother, Susan Cone, 66, from Gainesville, Florida, to witness Carter’s final journey.

He admired Carter for his humanitarian work, his advocacy for peace and his environmental efforts, including installing solar panels on the White House.

In Atlanta, Carter will remain in rest until Tuesday morning before being transported to Washington, D.C., where he will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol.

A state funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Washington National Cathedral, followed by a private funeral at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains.

People line the street in Plains, Georgia, before the hearse carrying former President Jimmy Carter’s casket drives through town

Jimmy Carter will be buried near his home, next to Rosalynn Carter.

This is a development story.