Jimmy Carter's six-day farewell to the nation culminated Thursday as the 39th president received a state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral before returning to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, to be buried beside his wife, Rosalyn. Ru.
The service marks the end of Mr. Carter's national lying in state at the Capitol, where Vice President Kamala Harris yesterday paid tribute to a president whose humanitarian work and diplomatic accomplishments far exceeded his term in office. did.
In his eulogy, Harris said, “He lived his faith, served his people, and left this world better than he could have imagined.'' He was credited with supporting Carter's diplomatic efforts, including the creation of major federal agencies and the Camp David Accords. He emphasized the importance of this initiative.
The procession for America's oldest president will include all five living presidents, including President-elect Donald Trump.
After the service at the cathedral, Carter's remains will make a final journey to Plains, the small Georgia town where his 100-year life began and ended. An invitation-only funeral will be held at Maranatha Baptist Church, where Mr. Carter taught Sunday school until he was in his 90s, where he will be buried alongside his wife of 77 years, Rosalyn.
During his lifetime, Carter eschewed the traditional elder statesman role in favor of pragmatic humanitarian work, such as Habitat for Humanity and the Guinea Pest Eradication Campaign. He has written more than 30 books on politics, faith, and poetry, helped negotiate nuclear war with North Korea through H4H in 1994, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
Praise for Carter's character and service could be heard from both sides of the aisle. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that he “exemplified the virtues of service and citizenship like other Americans.”
Carter is scheduled to return to his Plains hometown on Thursday, where former Secret Service agents will serve as pallbearers and the National Park Service will ring the old farmhouse bell 39 times in his memory.
The former president spent his final months in hospice care surrounded by his family, and died at his home on December 29 at the age of 100. His death came just over a year after the death of Rosalyn, who passed away in November 2023 at the age of 96.
