Atlanta memorializes former first lady Rosalynn Carter

November 29th, 2023

Former and current U.S. Secret Service agents carry casket of former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Ga., Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. The former first lady died on Nov. 19. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

Official ceremonies to memorialize former first lady and Georgia native Rosalynn Carter began Monday with a wreath laying at Georgia Southwestern State University. She died at the age of 96.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were there to memorialize the former first lady, mental health advocate and global humanitarian.

On Tuesday, former first ladies Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and Melania Trump, Georgia Gov. Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Dickens, and many other elected officials joined them.

They gathered for a private service at Emory University’s Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church.

WABE’s Rahul Bali joined “All Things Considered” after visiting the Carter Presidential Library and Museum, where he spoke with its director, Meredith Evans.

“I feel good because I know Mrs. Carter is resting, and I think she wouldn’t want us to be sad. I think she would want us to honor her with joy,” Evans told Bali.

The funeral procession continued Wednesday with a motorcade that traveled to Maranatha Baptist Church in the couple’s hometown of Plains, Georgia.

Christopher Alston and Zachary Bynum contributed to this report.