Jimmy Carter: Returns to Georgia

Former President Jimmy Carter is being taken on his final trip to Georgia after thousands of mourners paid their final respects to the 39th president and his state funeral service was held at Washington’s National Cathedral.

Carter returns to Georgia

Update 5:19 p.m. ET Jan. 9: Special Air Mission 39 landed at Lawson Army Airfield on Fort Moore, Georgia, around 3:18 p.m. ET, WSB reported. The motorcade departed shortly after his flag-draped casket was removed from the plane and transferred to a hearse that took him to his hometown of Plains, Georgia.

He and the Carter family traveled to the former president’s church, Maranatha Baptist Church for a final funeral service. It was the same church where Carter taught Sunday School. The funeral was private.

The U.S. Navy conducted a missing man formation flyover at the church to mark his career in the Navy and as Commander-in-Chief. It was supposed to happen before his private internment alongside his wife, Rosalynn, but because of delays, it had to be changed to before the funeral service, WSB reported.

Carter en route to Georgia

Update 2:00 p.m. ET Jan. 9: Carter’s casket has been loaded onto Special Air Mission 39 which is flying to Georgia, returning the former president to his home and final resting place.

Service concludes

Update 12:08 p.m. ET Jan. 9: Carter’s casket was removed from the cathedral by members of the military. The was taken down the aisle to the hymn “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!”

As the honor guard paused at the door of the cathedral, “Hail to the Chief” played, followed by “Fath of our Fathers” as he was taken down the steps of the church.

Carter was placed in the hearse which will drive him to Joint Base Andrews. Special Air Mission 39 will fly to Lawson Army Airfield in Fort Moore, Georgia.

Once he is back in Georgia he will be taken to Maranatha Baptist Church for a private funeral. Finally, Carter will be privately interred at his home in Plains, Georgia next to his wife Rosalynn.

‘Imagine’

Update 11:57 a.m. ET Jan. 9: Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood sang John Lennon’s “Imagine” the same song they performed at Rosalynn Carter’s funeral in 2023, The Associated Press reported.

Rev. Andrew Young

Update 11:48 a.m. ET Jan. 9: Rev. Andrew Young, sat near Carter’s casket starting with a reading from the Epistle Paul writing to Ephesians which includes “be kind and compassionate to one another.”

Young spoke about his and Carter’s upbringing, jokingly saying he still didn’t understand how someone raised in Plains, Georgia could become president.

He noted that Carter grew up as a minority in Sumter County where only 20 to 25% of the population at the time was white according to Young. Carter became a friend to the majority of those living in Sumter who were Black. Young said that when Carter went to the Naval Academy he requested that his roommate be Black, saying that he grew up a minority and could help his fellow midshipman.

“Jimmy Carter, for me, was something of a miracle,” Young said. “I was born in the Deep South shortly a few years after him. And it was always a place of miracles. I couldn’t see how we could have had the differences in background, the coming from different places on the planet, the experiences of slave and slave owner, the diversity of color and creed and national origin, and still become the great nation that we are in the United States of America. It was something of a miracle,” Young said, according to CNN.

James Carter

Update 11:45 a.m. ET Jan. 9: Grandson James Carter read Matthew 5:1-16, the bible verse which includes “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

President Joe Biden

Update 11:33 a.m. ET Jan. 9: Biden said that Carter’s biggest attribute was his character and that he endorsed his predecessor because of that.

“Because of that, character I believe is destiny. Destiny in our lives, and quite frankly, destiny in the life of the nation. It’s an accumulation of a million things built on character, that leads to a good life and a decent country. Life of purpose, life of meaning. Now, how do we find that good life? What does it look like What does it take to build character? Do the ends justify the means?” Biden said, according to CNN.

“Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me, and through his life, taught me, strength of character is more than title or the power we hold,” he added.

Jason Carter

Update 11:16 a.m. ET Jan. 9: Jason Carter, Jimmy Carter’s grandson, thanked those who are there mourning his grandfather. He spoke that about how his grandfather was a governor and president but that he was a regular person that he spent 92 years as a regular person and only eight years as governor and president. He noted that the house in Plains, Georgia, had photos of children and grandchildren and fishing trophies on the wall.

Scenes from the funeral

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Stuart Eizenstate

Update 11:04 a.m. ET Jan. 9: Stuart Eizenstat, a former White House adviser to Carter called the former president a “Renaissance man” citing that he was a farmer, naval submarine officer, nuclear engineer, fly fisherman, husband, father, grandfather and a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Ted Mondale

Update 10:48 a.m. ET Jan. 9: Ted Mondale, the son of Carter’s vice president Walter Mondale, read the eulogy written by his father in 2015. The tribute spoke of the elder Mondale’s selection as Carter’s running mate and how they worked together as running mates and then running the country.

Steven Ford

Update 10:33 a.m. ET Jan. 9: Steven Ford, the son of former President Gerald Ford, spoke, noting that it was 18 almost to the day of when his family sat in the pew where the Carter family was sitting. Gerald Ford died on Dec. 26, 2006. He mentioned that his father and Carter had both written eulogies for each other. Carter gave his at the former president’s service at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Jan 3, 2007. Steven Ford read the eulogy written by his father to honor Carter.

Grandson speaks

Update 10:27 a.m. ET Jan 9: Joshua Carter, Jimmy Carter’s grandson gave a eulogy sharing the stories that his grandfather would tell during Sunday School.

“He taught the Bible every Sunday from World War II to Covid,” the younger Carter said, according to CNN. “For all my grandfather has traveled, he structured his life so that he was home to teach on Sundays. It was essential to his life.”

Funeral begins

Update 10:22 a.m. ET Jan. 9: The funeral procession began with a crucifer, torch bearers and military members carrying in the casket, The Associated Press reported.

Rev. Andrew Young, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. gave a reading from the New Testament gospel of John and the book of Romans. Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of the National Cathedral offered a prayer.

Carter taken into Cathedral

Update 10:05 a.m. ET Jan. 9: Carter’s casket has been taken from the hearse and is being carried into the cathedral.

The program, from The Associated Press:

• Joshua Carter reads the First Lesson (Romans 8:1-18, 38-39)
• Steven Ford delivers remarks
• Ted Mondale delivers remarks
• The Armed Forces Chorus, the U.S. Marine Chamber Orchestra, and the Cathedral Choir perform “Eternal Father, Strong to Save.”
• Stuart Eizenstat delivers remarks
• Jason Carter delivers remarks
• Phyllis Adams and Leila Bolden perform “Amazing Grace”
• The U.S. Marine Orchestra performs
• James Carter delivers the Gospel reading (Matthew 5:1-16)
• Reverend Andrew Young delivers the homily
• Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood perform “Imagine.”
• The Lord’s Prayer
• The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde and Reverend Anthony Lowden deliver The Prayers
• The Most Reverend Sean Rowe, The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, and The Very Reverend Randolph Marshall Hollerith deliver the Commendation
• The Most Reverend Sean Rowe delivers the Blessing
• The Very Reverend Randolph Marshall Hollerith delivers the Dismissal
• Dismissal song “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.”

Motorcade arrives at Cathedral

Update 9:38 a.m. ET Jan. 9: Carter’s motorcade arrived at the National Cathedral. His family is serving as honorary pallbearers while members of the military will take his casket into the church.

The Associated Press noted that the funeral will be a show of bipartisanship with former Vice President Al Gore seated next to former Vice President Mike Pence. It will also be one of the few times Pence will be with President-elect Donald Trump since they left office. Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff are there as is incoming Vice President J.D. Vance.

There are also world leaders such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh in attendance, CBC reported.

One person missing is former first lady Michelle Obama. She is in Hawaii. But former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump are there. As are Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Melania Trump.

Biden to give eulogy

Update 9:32 a.m. ET Jan. 9: President Joe Biden will be among those speaking during the service on Thursday. He will deliver a eulogy, CNN reported. Biden in the past called Carter a “beloved friend” in a video that marked the former president’s 100th birthday. Biden had also said that he had been “hanging out with Jimmy Carter for more than 50 years,” CNN reported.

Other speakers include:

• Steve Ford giving remarks written by former President Gerald Ford
• Ted Mondale giving remarks written by former Vice President Walter Mondale
• Stu Eizenhstat
• Jason Carter

There will also be several musical selections:

• “The Road Home” by the Cathedral Choir
• “Amazing Grace” by Phyllis Adams and Lelia Bold of Song Rise to Thee
• “Imagine” by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood
• “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” by the U.S. Marine Orchestra and Armed Forces Chorus
• “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name”

Carter leaves Capitol Building

Update 9:03 a.m. ET Jan. 9: Carter’s casket was carried down the steps of the Capitol Building by members of the military. It was placed in the hearse that will take him to the National Cathedral, passing by the White House.

Original report: Here is the schedule of events according to the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and the U.S. Army Military District of Washington:

• Carter will leave the Rotunda during a ceremony that begins at 9 a.m.
• The motorcade will leave the Capitol at 9:15 a.m. and will arrive at the National Cathedral at 9:30 a.m.
• The funeral service will begin at 10 a.m. and will run for about an hour.
• Carter will then be taken by motorcade to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Special Air Mission 39 will fly to Lawson Army Airfield in Fort Moore, Georgia.
• Once he is back in Georgia he will be taken to Maranatha Baptist Church for a private funeral. Finally, Carter will be privately interred at his home in Plains, Georgia next to his wife Rosalynn.

During the funeral service at the National Cathedral, the so-called president club will gather with all five living former and current presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden — come together for the first time since the funeral of George H.W. Bush in 2018, CNN reported.

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