Jimmy Carter’s funeral procession began Saturday in south Georgia, where the 39th U.S. president’s life started over a century ago.
A motorcade carrying Carter’s flag-draped casket departed from Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, accompanied by former Secret Service agents who once protected him. These agents served as pallbearers, walking alongside the hearse as it left the campus.
The Carter family—including his four children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren—joined the procession as it passed through Plains, Carter’s cherished hometown, and by his boyhood home en route to Atlanta.
Carter, who passed away on December 29 at the age of 100, died at his home in Plains.
In downtown Plains, families gathered along the procession route near the historic train depot that served as Carter’s presidential campaign headquarters. Many carried flowers or wore pins featuring his photo.
To honor Carter’s service as the 39th president, a bell was rung 39 times.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, who passed away in November 2023, were both born in Plains and spent most of their lives there, apart from Jimmy’s Navy service and his political career as Georgia governor and U.S. president.
Former and current U.S. Secret Service agents assigned to the Carter detail, move the flag-draped casket of former US President Jimmy Carter, at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, as part of his funeral ceremony in Americus, Georgia
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100 at his home in Plains, Georgia
The procession paused at Carter’s boyhood home on the family farm outside Plains, where the National Park Service rang the old farm bell 39 times in honor of his presidency.
From there, Carter’s remains continued to Atlanta for a moment of silence at the Georgia Capitol and a ceremony at the Carter Presidential Center.
‘We want to pay our respects,’ 12-year-old Will Porter Shelbrock told WTOP News, who was born decades after Carter left office in 1981. Shelbrock traveled from Gainesville, Florida, with his grandmother, Susan Cone, 66, to witness Carter’s final journey.
He admired Carter for his humanitarian work, his advocacy for peace, and his environmental efforts, including installing solar panels on the White House.
In Atlanta, Carter will lie in repose until Tuesday morning before being transported to Washington, D.C., where he will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol.
A state funeral will take place Thursday at 10 a.m. at Washington National Cathedral, followed by a private funeral at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains.
People watch as the hearse carrying the flag-draped casket of former US President Jimmy Carter departs Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, as part of his funeral ceremony
Jimmy Carter will be laid to rest near his home, beside Rosalynn Carter.
This is a developing story.
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