US politics: Jimmy Carter's funeral begins by tracing 100 years from rural Georgia to the world stage

In Atlanta, Georgia, the public tribute to Jimmy Carter commenced on Saturday. The late 39th president of the United States, his flag-covered casket symbolizing his journey from the South during the Great Depression, a family farming background, to the heights of American politics, and his extensive humanitarian work.

The first day of the six-day state funeral was filled with personal reflections intertwined with the ceremonial honors bestowed upon former presidents. Jimmy Carter, who passed away at 100 years old on December 29, was remembered for the impactful chapters of his life.

“He was a remarkable man, supported by an extraordinary woman,” shared Jimmy Carter’s son, James Earl “Chip” Carter III, addressing those present at The Carter Center. He also praised his mother, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who passed away in 2023, highlighting how their combined efforts had a profound impact on the world.

Grandson Jason Carter, who now chairs the center’s governing board, said, “It’s amazing what you can cram into a hundred years.”

Carter’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren accompanied their patriarch as his hearse rode first Saturday through his hometown of Plains, which at about 700 residents is not much bigger than when Carter was born there Oct. 1, 1924. The procession stopped at the farm where the future president toiled alongside the Black sharecroppers who worked for his father. The motorcade continued to Atlanta, stopping in front of the Georgia Capitol where Carter served as a state senator and reformist governor.

A military body bearer team carries the casket of former President Jimmy Carter into the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum to lie in repose in Atlanta, Jan. 4, 2025.

A military body bearer team carries the casket of former President Jimmy Carter into the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum to lie in repose in Atlanta, Jan. 4, 2025.

AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, Pool

Finally, he arrived for his last visit to the Carter Presidential Center, which houses his presidential library and The Carter Center where he based his post-White House advocacy for public health, democracy and human rights, setting a new standard for what former presidents can accomplish after they yield power.

“His spirit fills this place,” Jason Carter told the assembly that included some of the center’s 3,000 employees worldwide. “You continue the vibrant living legacy of what is my grandfather’s life work,” he added.

Pallbearers on Saturday came from the Secret Service that protected the Carters for almost a half-century and a military honor guard that included Navy servicemembers for the only U.S. Naval Academy graduate to reach the Oval Office. A military band played “Hail to the Chief” and the hymn “Be Thou My Vision” for the commander in chief who also was a devout Baptist.

His longtime personal pastor, the Rev. Tony Lowden, remembered not a president but the frail man who spent the last 22 months in hospice care, “wrapped in a blanket” that included the words of Psalm 23.

Chip Carter recalled “the boss” he had to make an appointment to see in the Oval Office, but also the father who spent an entire Christmas break learning Latin and teaching his 8th-grade son who had failed a test. When he took that test again, the younger Carter said, he aced it: “I owed it to my father, who spent that kind of time with me.”

James "Chip" Carter speaks during a service for former President Jimmy Carter at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, Jan. 4, 2025.

James “Chip” Carter speaks during a service for former President Jimmy Carter at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, Jan. 4, 2025.

AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool

Jimmy Carter will lie in repose at the Carter Presidential Center from 7 p.m. Saturday through 6 a.m. Tuesday, with the public able to pay respects around the clock.

Scott Lyle, an engineer who grew up in Georgia but now lives in New York, was among the first mourners to pay his respects. Lyle said he joined Carter to build homes with Habitat for Humanity for the first time in LaGrange, Georgia, in 2003. Since then, he has traveled around the world to build houses with the group.

“I got to see, what some people don’t get to see, close. He was an amazing man, and he cared about others. He walked the walk,” said Lyle, who was wearing Carter-themed Habitat gear. “And I can’t think of anyone else that I would want to stand in line to pay my respects for.”

National rites will continue in Washington and conclude Thursday with a funeral at Washington National Cathedral, followed by a return to Plains. There, the former president will be buried next to his wife of 77 years near the home they built before his first state Senate campaign in 1962.

The Carters lived nearly all their lives in Plains, with the exception of his Naval service, four years in the Governor’s Mansion and four years in the White House. As his hearse rolled through the town, mourners lined the main street, some holding bouquets of flowers and wearing pins bearing images of the former president and his signature smile.

Willie Browner, 75, described Carter as hailing from a bygone era of American politics.

“This man, he thought of more than just himself,” said Browner, who grew up in the town of Parrott, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from Plains. Browner said it meant “a great deal” to have a president come from a small Southern town like his – something he worries isn’t likely to happen again.

Indeed, Carter helped plan his own funeral to emphasize that his remarkable rise to the world stage was because of – not despite – his deep rural roots.

NPS employees salute the hearse carrying the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter as the motorcade stops in front of Boyhood Farm, where President Carter grew up.

NPS employees salute the hearse carrying the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter as the motorcade stops in front of Boyhood Farm, where President Carter grew up.

Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool

Over the course of a few blocks in Plains, the motorcade passed near where the Carters ran the family peanut warehouse, and the small home where his mother, a nurse, had delivered the future first lady in 1927. The hearse passed the old train depot that served as Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign headquarters – a barebones effort that depended on public financing, dwarfed by the billion-dollar U.S. presidential campaigns of the 21st century.

At the Carter farm, a few dozen National Park Service rangers stood in formation in front of the home, which did not have running water or electricity when Carter was a boy. The old farm bell rang 39 times to honor Carter’s place as the 39th president.

Beside the house, there remains the tennis court that Carter’s father, James Earl Carter Sr., built for the family – a nod to the blend of privilege and hard rural life that defined the future president’s upbringing. Carter worked the land throughout the Great Depression, but it was owned by the elder Carter, who employed the surrounding Black tenant farmers during the era of Jim Crow segregation.

Carter wrote and spoke extensively on those formative years and how the abject poverty and institutional racism he saw influenced his policies in government and human rights work.

Calvin Smyre, a former Georgia legislator, remembered that legacy Saturday at the state Capitol. Smyre, who is Black, said Carter’s repudiation of racial segregation allowed Black people to wield power in Georgia.

“We stand on the shoulder of courageous people like Jimmy Carter,” Smyre said. “What he did shocked and shook the political ground here in the state of Georgia. And we live better because of that.”

___

Payne reported from Plains, Georgia.

___

Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.

Copyright © 2025 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

You May Also Like
Village of Winnetka signs agreement to augment police force with P-4 Security Solutions

Winnetka Village partners with P-4 Security Solutions to boost police force

In Winnetka, Illinois (WLS) — The local police chief has raised concerns…
Will County Sheriff's Office employee Daniel T. Herod arrested by Homeland Security, facing local child sex assault charges

Homeland Security arrests Will County Sheriff’s Office worker Daniel T. Herod on charges related to child sex assault in the area

JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) — An employee from the Will County Sheriff’s Office…
Texas police suicides: Deputy Christina Kohler among 4 current, former Harris County Sheriff's Office deputies who took own lives

Addressing Police Mental Health: Deputy Christina Kohler and 3 Other Harris County Sheriff’s Office Deputies Lost to Suicide

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Deputy Christina Kohler, a long-time member of the…
Newsom-backed San Francisco speed camera program fines certain drivers more than others

Drivers face varying fines in San Francisco speed camera program supported by Newsom

San Francisco is launching a new program backed by Democrat California Gov.…
Education Sec. Means Business in Video on Reports Maine Ed. Dept. Hides 'Gender Transitions' From Parents

Education Secretary Takes Action in Video About Reports of Maine Department of Education Concealing Information on ‘Gender Transitions’ From Parents

On Thursday, the 10-day deadline the Trump Education Department (ED) had given…
Wisconsin Supreme Court election 2025: Elon Musk, DOGE head, announces $1 million for voter; opposition calls it 'corrupt'

Elon Musk offers $1 million to Wisconsin voters in 2025 election; critics label move as ‘corruption’

MADISON, Wis. — Billionaire Elon Musk has revealed that a Wisconsin voter…
Usha Vance suffers fresh humiliation in Greenland after US officials knocking door to door get embarrassing response

Embarrassing Response Received by US Officials as Usha Vance Faces Humiliation in Greenland

The planned trip of Second Lady Usha Vance to Greenland has further…
An individual wearing a green jacket and a green snow hat can be seen carving into a Tesla Cybertruck.

Video captures vandals defacing Tesla Cybertruck with ‘Nazis’ and swastika, says NYPD

The New York Police Department Hate Crime Task Force is investigating after…
Amanda Knox's advice for American linked to Punta Cana missing persons case

“Amanda Knox Shares Insights on American Involved in Punta Cana Missing Persons Case”

Amanda Knox knows exactly what Joshua Riibe is feeling right now. The…
US government wants former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan to pay $3.1M in restitution after guilty verdict in corruption case

Former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan Ordered to Pay $3.1 Million in Restitution After Corruption Conviction

CHICAGO (WLS) — The U.S. government is seeking more than $3.1 million…
Sofia Carson’s Netflix Movie ‘The Life List’ Ruined the Romance With a Cheating Storyline

How Sofia Carson’s Netflix Film ‘The Life List’ Disappoints Fans with a Betrayal Plot

The latest film on Netflix starring Sofia Carson, named The Life List,…
Watch: Jon Stewart Gets a Brutal Lesson on Government Red Tape in the Biden Era – ‘Oh My God’

Revealing the Challenges of Government Red Tape in the Biden Era: Jon Stewart’s Eye-Opening Experience

Jon Stewart recently learned about how inefficient the government can be through…