Jimmy Carter attends funeral of late wife Rosalynn in Georgia hometown: Live updates

Rosalynn Carter was remembered for her dedication to mental health awareness during a tribute service honouring the former first lady.

On Tuesday, former US president Jimmy Carter was joined by fellow former presidents, first ladies, and US politicians for a tribute service at Emory University’s Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. The service comes more than one week after her death on 19 November at the age of 96.

The tribute service included special speeches from Carter’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Since her passing, Americans everywhere have reflected on the former first lady’s mental health advocacy. Those who have worked closely with Carter are now highlighting how the first lady was quite ahead of her time when it came to championing mental health.

“I do not think there has ever been another sort of leader in the mental health field who has had as much of an impact on mental health care and access to care and how we think about mental health and mental illness as Mrs Carter,” Kathy Cade, vice chair of The Carter Center, told the Associated Press in the months leading up to Carter’s death. “And I think it has to do with her incredible concern about the issue and her perseverance for more than 50 years.”

The church where those closest to Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter bid farewell to the former first lady Wednesday played a central role in the lives of the famous couple from tiny Plains, Georgia.

Maranatha Baptist Church, which hosted the funeral for Rosalynn Carter, held its first services just months into her husband’s presidency, and the two were heavily involved with it over the years.

Jimmy Carter, who is 99 and attended the funeral in a wheelchair, having entered home hospice care early this year, taught Sunday school at the church for decades. His lessons, often on what the Bible says about forgiveness and serving the poor, drew hundreds of people from far and wide, even overseas.

Rosalynn, who died Nov. 19 at 96, would listen in, and the two would pose for photos afterward with anyone who wanted one.

Jimmy Carter, who built the wooden cross that hangs behind the alter, continued teaching even after he announced his cancer diagnosis in 2015. His niece Kim Fuller took over for him when he had brain surgery in late 2019, though he continued to attend her lessons.

See photos of the church intertwined with the Carters’ lives:

Even toward the end of her life, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter was dedicated to kindness and helping others.

Pastor Tony Lowden, the Carter family pastor, said during her sermon that Carter “loved on everyone” around her including her children, family, friends, aides and more.

Pastor Lowden described how Carter would call him or write notes telling him she was thinking of him, checking on him and praying for him in his toughest moments.

“She was as real as they get,” Pastor Lowden said. “She was a virtuous woman.”

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris posted messages about Rosalynn Carter after attending her tribute service on Wednesday.

“A champion for equal rights and opportunities for women and girls. An advocate for mental health and wellness. A supporter of unseen caregivers. Today, a grateful nation remembers Rosalynn Carter, a First Lady who walked her own path, inspiring us all along the way,” Mr Biden wrote.

Ms Harris posted a photo of her and First Gentleman Doug Emhoff as well as her signature in the guest book

During Rosalynn Carter’s funeral on Wednesday, several of her close family members delivered remarks about her and read biblical passages.

This included Carter’s eldest son, John “Jack” Carter and her grandson, Joshua Jeffrey Carter, who delivered a tribute on behalf of his father, Donnel “Jeff” Carter.

Both spoke about Carter’s empathetic nature, independent attitude toward life and lifelong partnership with Jimmy Carter.

Three of Carter’s grandchildren delivered short biblical readings.

Charlie Carter, one of Carter’s younger great-grandchildren gave short reading: “Be kind to one another.”

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter will be buried at her family’s home in Plains, Georgia.

The home is the same one she shared with former President Jimmy Carter since the 1960s.

As the motorcade carrying Rosalynn Carter’s casket from the Carter family residence to the church where a private funeral service will be, mourners in Plains, Georgia lined the streets to say their final goodbyes.

Carter, a human rights advocate and beloved figure of Georgia, had a massive impact on her community – becoming a central figure in her husband, former President Jimmy Carter’s political career from the start.

The former First Lady’s impact could be seen from the love and admiration members of the town in south Georgia displayed on Wednesday.

Jimmy Carter, the former president of the United States, attended his late wife, Rosalynn Carter’s, funeral service on Wednesday in Plains, Georgia.

Appearing at the Maranatha Baptist Church this morning, Carter wore a dark suit and lei around his neck – an ode to the couple’s time spent in Hawaii while he was in the Navy.

Carter, 99, has been in hospice care since February.