Rosalynn Carter to be buried at the Georgia home she shared with husband Jimmy in private funeral – after the Bidens, Melania Trump, Michelle Obama said goodbye at emotional memorial service

Rosalynn Carter will be buried Wednesday in the Plains, Georgia, home she shared with husband Jimmy Carter, overlooking the porch where the two often sat.

Her private funeral service caps three days of tributes to the late first lady, including a service on Tuesday in which Joe and Jill Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Melania Trump said goodbye.

Rosalynn Carter will share a plot with her 99-year-old husband, who left hospice care to make his first public appearance in nearly a year when he attended her memorial.

The two were married for 77 years and their love story – along with Rosalynn’s humanitarian work – was a major theme during Tuesday’s service.

Their daughter Amy Carter choked back tears as she spoke about her parents.

“My mother was in love with my father most of her life,” she noted at Tuesday’s memorial service. “Their partnership and love story were a defining feature of her life. Because he can’t talk to you today. I’m going to share some of his words about loving and missing.”

She then read from a letter Jimmy Carter wrote to Rosalynn 75 years ago while he was serving in the Navy: “My love, every time I have been away from you, I have been happy when I came back and discovered how wonderful you are. While I was away, I tried to convince myself that you couldn’t be as sweet and beautiful as I remember.”

“But when I see you, I fall in love with you all over again. Do you find that strange? It’s not about me. Goodbye darling. See you tomorrow Jimmy.’

Jimmy Carter sat in the front row as his daughter spoke. He arrived at the service in a wheelchair and under a blanket with Rosalynn’s face on it.

He was accompanied by his family and all the living first ladies – Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Jill Biden – in addition to President Joe Biden and Bill Clinton.

Rossalyn’s funeral service will be held Wednesday at Maranatha Baptist Church, where she and her husband worshiped.

After the service, the hearse will take her through the town where she grew up, past the church where she married Jimmy, and to what locals call “the Carter compound,” the property where the Carters’ ranch is located, the Carter’s ranch. pond where she fished, and the security posts for the Secret Service agents who protected her for 47 years.

During Tuesday’s service, Rosalynn was honored by the people who knew her best: her children and grandchildren.

Jason Carter, a grandson of Carter, said of Rosalynn Carter, “My grandmother doesn’t need a eulogy, her life was a sermon.”

He said Rosalynn was like any other grandmother: she gave her grandchildren $20 on their birthdays and “almost all her recipes call for mayonnaise.”

“She was born just a few years after women got the right to vote in this small southern town where people still plowed their fields behind mules,” he said.

‘She shaped our national policies and defeated human rights dictators herself. She built the Carter Center from an idea into a human rights powerhouse.”

He praised her global humanitarian missions, such as her work to eradicate the guinea pig worm, and pointed out that the world has gone from 3.5 million cases a year to fewer than a dozen.

“We are in the last kilometer because she could see far and she kept going. She was not afraid of these long journeys,” he said.

The Carters’ son James said of the former first lady, “My mother was the glue that held our family together, through the ups and downs and through the thick and thin of our family’s politics.”

James told stories about his family’s adventures in politics and the good humor his mother displayed during the tough times.

He credited his mother with getting him into rehab for his drug and alcohol addiction.

“She saved my life,” he said.

And he concluded, “My mother, Rosalynn Carter was the most beautiful woman I ever met. And beautiful to see too.’

Jimmy Carter sat front row during the service with his sons, John William “Jack” Carter, James Earl “Chip” Carter III and Donnel Jeffrey “Jeff” Carter and his daughter, Amy Lynn Carter.

Amy was seen holding her father’s hand during a performance of ‘Morning Has Broken’ by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus.

Seated next to the family in the front row were the president, first lady, Bill Clinton and the former first ladies.

During her eulogy, journalist Judy Woodruff greeted the front row by name and said, “Rosalynn Carter would be so happy to know that she brought you all together on this day.”

Her comment was received with laughter and applause.

Jason Carter, the Carters’ grandson, also paid tribute to the leaders in attendance, saying, “Secretary Clinton and Dr. Biden – we also welcome your dear husbands.”

The crowd roared back.

Also during the service, legendary country music couple Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performed John Lennon’s “Imagine.” The couple became close to the Carters through their work with Habitat for Humanity.

Tony Lowden, the Carters’ pastor, said Rosalynn would like to thank the Secret Service, which guarded her for 46 years.

‘For 46 years they made sure she got home safely. I want to say to each of them that she would say to you, ‘Thank you. You got me home safely,” he said.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gen. Doug Emhoff sat in the second row behind Melania Trump at the service.

Georgia Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock were also in attendance, as was Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.

Carter was with his wife of 77 years when she died. They are the longest married presidential couple in American history.