Three days of tributes to the late first lady Rosalynn Carter began Monday, when the Georgian began her final journey carried by the men sworn to protect her.
Current and former Secret Service agents assigned to Carter’s detail carried his flower-covered casket to a waiting hearse outside Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia, 10 miles east of his hometown of Plains.
The caravan’s first stop was at Carter’s alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University, where two wreaths were laid near a bronze statue of the former first lady in front of the school’s health and human sciences building. which bears his name.
“She leaves a legacy that we must strive to fulfill,” university President Neal Weaver said during the official celebration, which included the former first lady’s daughter, Amy Carter, and her sons John “Jack” Carter, James “Chip” Carter and Donnel. “Jeff” Carter.
Weaver praised “the way he related to people, he saw humanity as a really positive thing and he wanted people to be successful and he wanted to invest in their lives.”
Hundreds of Georgians, including schoolchildren, lined the streets along the motorcade route to Atlanta, waving American flags and paying their respects to the former first lady as the hearse passed by.
Jimmy Carter is expected to attend his wife’s funeral. AP
The motorcade arrived at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta shortly after 3:15 p.m., entering the library’s Flag Circle, all at half-mast in memory of the former first lady, according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
The Armed Forces Body Bearer Team, an honor guard composed of members from each branch of the military service and considered the largest funeral detachment in the United States, greeted the procession and carried Carter’s casket to the building’s lobby for a private rest service.
The former first lady will lie in state at the Atlanta Library and Museum on Monday night, and the public will be welcome to pay their respects for four hours starting at 6 p.m.
Former and current U.S. Secret Service agents assigned to Carter’s detail carry the casket of former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus. POOL/AFP via Getty Images Children of former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. AP
Rosalynn Carter died on November 19 at the age of 96, two days after her family announced that she had joined her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, in hospice care.
Jimmy Carter, 99, was expected to attend a memorial service for his late wife Tuesday afternoon, a Carter Center representative told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The service will also be attended by President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter married in 1946. REUTERS They were the longest married couple in presidential history. Getty Images Amy Carter and her husband, James Wentzel, participate in a wreath-laying ceremony for Rosalynn Carter on the campus of Georgia Southwestern State University. POOL/AFP via Getty Images Men walk alongside the hearse carrying the casket of former first lady Rosalynn Carter. POOL/AFP via Getty Images Members of the public stand behind a statue of Rosalynn at Georgia Southwestern State University. AP
Three other former first ladies are also expected to attend: Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and Melania Trump.
Also scheduled to attend are Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp, as well as Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
Rosalynn Carter’s surviving grandchildren will serve as honorary pallbearers for the ceremony, which will be held at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the campus of Emory University.
Carter will lie in state Monday night at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. Universal Images Group via Getty Images
After the service in Atlanta, Carter’s remains will be brought back to Plains, where a private burial will be held Wednesday.
The former first lady was born and spent most of her life in this small rural town, home to only 593 residents.
In Logan Park, just off Main Street in Plains, a makeshift memorial for Carter has been erected in front of the town’s Christmas tree, with a collaged sign of images and the words “First Lady of Plains” written on the bottom, according to the AJC. Several Main Street businesses have adorned their buildings with Carter memorabilia, and one coffee shop posted a sign that read: “Well done, good and faithful servant. We will miss you!”
The White House pays tribute to the former first lady. REUTERS
“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I accomplished,” Jimmy Carter said in a statement announcing his wife’s death.
“She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, she always knew someone loved me and supported me.”
Carter and the former Rosalynn Smith had been married for 77 years, the longest-married couple in American history.
Last week, the White House ordered American flags at official posts to fly at half-staff starting Saturday and continuing through Wednesday.
The former first lady’s official White House portrait has also been adorned with black crepe.
“First Lady Rosalynn Carter walked her own path, inspiring a nation and the world along the way,” the president and first lady said in a statement last week.
“Throughout her incredible life as First Lady of Georgia and First Lady of the United States, Rosalynn did much to address many of society’s greatest needs,” they continued.
Rosalynn Carter had been an advocate for mental health support and joined her husband in championing humanitarian causes.
She is survived by Jimmy Carter, her four children, and 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn