Georgia [US], January 5 (ANI): America’s final salute for former US President Jimmy Carter started on Saturday with a tribute to him outside his family’s farm as the old farm bell rang 39 times in his honour.
His six-day state funeral began in Americus at the Phoebe Sumter Medical Center, where current and former Secret Service agents who protected the former president loaded his remains into a black hearse and walked alongside as it rolled off the campus toward Plains, CBS News reported.
Carter passed away at the age of 100 on December 29. He served in the US for seven years before working on the family farm and running for office in Georgia, winning the governorship in 1970. He became the US President in 1976 and served a single term in office. In his post-presidency life, he followed his passion for humanitarian work and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
Mourners lined the main street in Plains, where Carter was born and lived most of his life. The motorcade paused for a brief time in front of the farm where he grew up and the National Park Service rang a bell 39 times in his honour, in recognition of his status as the US’ 39th president, according to CBS News report.
The motorcade visited the state capitol in Atlanta, where a moment of silence was led by Governor Brian Kemp, Lt Governor Burt Jones, Mayor of Atlanta Andre Dickens, members of the Georgia Legislature and Georgia State Patrol Troopers.
In a service at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, Jason Carter paid tribute to his grandfather, Jimmy Carter, and people who worked with him to push his message of service and help to others beyond US borders.
He said, “This building is full of his life…His spirit fills this place.” Jason Carter said, “The reason his spirit fills this place is because of the people in this room.” He further said, “You continue the vibrant living legacy of what is my grandfather’s life’s work.”
Jimmy Carter’s son, James “Chip” Carter, paid tribute to his father and mother, Rosalynn Carter, who died in 2023. He said, “The two of them together changed the world.” He added, “It was an amazing thing to watch from so close.”
The service on Saturday included a psalm reading by former US President’s person pastor Tony Lowden, a prayer by Bernstine Hollis, a longtime friend and employee at the Carter Center, as well as music by the Morehouse College Glee Club, CBS News reported.
The former US President’s body will lie in repose at the Carter Center until 6 am (local time) on Tuesday. A departure ceremony will be conducted and then his casket will be taken to Washington, DC, where he will be moved to a hearse with an arrival ceremony. The motorcade will stop at the US Navy Memorial and then the casket will be transferred from a hearse to a horse-drawn caisson in a ceremony.
The funeral procession will then be taken to the US Capitol, where military bearers will carry the casket to the Rotunda. Members of Congress will be able to pay their respects during a ceremony and then Carter will lie in state while the military maintains a guard of honor. Members of the public will be able to pay their respects to the former US President.
He will lie in state in the Rotunda until Thursday when there will be a state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral. His remains will then be taken back to Georgia for a private funeral service at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, where Carter used to teach in Sunday school for many years, CBS News reported.
After the private funeral, there will be a motorcade through Plains to Carter’s home, where he will be buried. The US Navy will hold a missing man formation flyover to honor him and then there will be a private burial. He will be laid to rest beside his wife Rosalynn. (ANI)
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