Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s funeral services have begun in Georgia.
The motorcade carrying Carter’s remains traveled through his tiny hometown of Plains, paused at the farm where he grew up, and continued through Georgia, eventually coming to Atlanta.
A crowd of Georgia lawmakers watched as the hearse paused in front of the Georgia Capitol for a moment of silence.
Jack Carter, the eldest son of Jimmy and Rosalynn, and Jason Carter, their grandson, shook hands with political leaders during the ceremony.
Members of the state legislature gathered to pay their respects, including former Georgia State Rep. Calvin Smyre.
“Jimmy Carter, he was an awesome person,” said Smyre. “A giant pine tree has fallen in the state of Georgia forest, and for that, I’m humbled and a little emotional today.”
Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue said he’s proud that a Georgian became president and of the legacy Carter built through caring for others around the world.
“The legend that he became after the presidency and continuing to care for people — the [Habitat for Humanity] efforts, the Guinea worm efforts across the world and caring for people that were the least fortunate, I think again — just was a great example for any public servant,” Perdue said.
After the moment of silence, the motorcade made its way to the Carter Presidential Center for a private ceremony attended by the Carter family, as well as staff of the Carter Center and the Carter Presidential Library and Museum.
Under a cold setting sun, the hearse stopped at the Circle of Flags, and the 282D Army Band played as pallbearers carried the American flag-draped casket inside.
Jason Carter began the service by speaking about the importance of the Center and the people who work there.
“We’ll have many chances this week to pay tribute to my grandfather, but it was important for all of us that we stop here,” he said. “These buildings, as you all know are filled with his life, not just because this is a museum to his life, and not just because there is a collection here of his beloved paintings — but his spirit fills this place. And the real reason that this spirit fills this place is because of the people who are standing here.”
Jimmy Carter’s son Chip remembered his father as someone who could be hard to get time with as a governor and president. But he recalled one Christmas vacation where Carter, disappointed with Chip’s failing grades, took matters into his own hands, disappearing into his warehouse with Chip’s 8th-grade Latin book.
“When he came home that night, we spent an hour and a half, him teaching me Latin he had learned in my book that day,” Chip said. “He did that every day of Christmas vacation.”
A longtime Carter family friend and Carter Center employee, Bernstein Hollis, shared a prayer.
“We have lost a great man, a blessed man, but we will continue to live the legacy that he left behind. The world will remember him, oh God, for the mighty and the many things that he has done in this world.”
The Morehouse Glee Club sang as the service ended and the family departed.
The public is invited to visit the Carter Center for viewing until Tuesday at 7 a.m. before heading to Washington, D.C., where he will lie in repose at the U.S. Capitol.
Carter will return to Georgia to be buried in Plains next to his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, who died Nov. 19, 2023, at age 96.
Molly Samuel and Rebecca Etter contributed to this report.
