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

Every living first lady – former and current – attended the tribute service of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter on Tuesday afternoon.

First Lady Jill Biden joined Melania Trump, Micelle Obama, Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were all in attendance, standing front and center.

President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton were also in attendance along with Carter’s husband, former President Jimmy Carter.

Jason Carter, the grandson of former President Jimmy and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter told The New York Times that his grandfather was determined to attend Rosalynn’s tribute service despite his physical condition.

Mr Carter told The Times that his grandfather, who is 99, is “coming to the end” and “very, very, physically diminished.”

“But I think he was proud and happy that he was there for her till the very end, and he wasn’t going to miss this for anything,” Mr Carter added.

“He has been this moral rock for so many people, but she really was that rock for him. He’s glad he’s not going to miss it, but we’re all worried about him.”

Jimmy Carter entered the tribute service in a wheelchair with a blanket draped over his lap. He appeared pale and did not make eye contact with the current or former presidents and first ladies when he arrived.

Former President Jimmy Carter attended the memorial service of his late wife, Rosalynn Carter, on Tuesday – making a rare public appearance since entering hospice in February.

Mr Carter, 99, emerged from the wings of the Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University in a wheelchair to join the current president and first lady, as well as other former first ladies to pay his respects to his late wife of 77 years.

Ariana Baio reports:

Jimmy Carter remains a home hospice patient and there are “no updates” on the former president’s health, according to a spokesperson for the Carter Center.

The spokesperson, Matthew De Galan, addressed Mr Carter’s health the day after former First Lady Rosalynn Carter died at the family home in Plains, Georgia, on November 19.

Ms Carter’s death came just days after it was announced that the 96-year-old had also entered home hospice. She had been diagnosed with dementia in May.

The former president’s last public appearance came in September, when in a surprise, he and his wife took part in the Peanut Festival in Plains.

The couple were seen riding in an SUV and waving to the crowd.

Rosalynn Carter’s memorial services will continue today with a private funeral service and interment.

At 11am, a service for the family will be held at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia.

At 12:30pm the casket will be transferred from the church to a private interment at the Carter family residence.

Carter will be buried in a private ceremony at the Carter Home and Garden.

Today, the Carter family will have a private funeral service and burial for former First Lady Rosalynn Carter in Plains, Georgia

At 11am a motorcade will depart from the Carter family residence and head toward Maranatha Baptist Church for the private funeral service. Some media will be allowed inside the church as well as outside.

At the end of the service, the funeral will go back to the Carter residence where a private interment will take place with no media pressence.

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.

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.