AMERICUS, Ga. (AP) — Rosalynn Carter will make her final journey to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center on Monday as her family begins three days of memorials for the former first lady and global humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at the age of 96.
After brief ceremonies in the Carters’ native Sumter County in south Georgia, Rosalynn Carter’s remains will travel by motorcade to Atlanta, where she will lie in repose at The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum.
The library will be open from 6 to 10 p.m., offering the most direct opportunity for the public to pay their respects during the three-day tribute. Two funerals, set for Tuesday in Atlanta and Wednesday in the Carters’ tiny hometown of Plains, are for invited guests.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, longtime friends of the Carters, lead the dignitaries expected to attend the Atlanta service. Motorcade routes will be open throughout the schedule. Rosalynn Carter’s burial Wednesday in Plains is private.
It is not known whether the former president, who is 99 and in his 10th month of hospice care, will take part in the events. Those close to his immediate family have said he will make every effort as he grieves his partner of more than 77 years.
The schedule, a product of detailed planning that involved the former first couple, reflects the range of Rosalynn Carter’s interests and impact. That includes her advocacy for better mental health treatment and the elevation of caregiving, her role as Jimmy Carter’s closest adviser and her status as matriarch of Plains and Maranatha Baptist Church, where she and the former president served in various roles after leaving the White House in 1981.
“All over the world, people are celebrating her life,” said Kim Fuller, the Carters’ niece, while teaching a Bible lesson Sunday at Maranatha. “And of course we’re coming into a week now where we’re gonna celebrate even more.”
A detailed schedule is available online. Events will be streamed…
Read the full article here
