Remembering Jimmy Carter: Former president lies in repose at The Carter Center

The nation is saying goodbye to the country’s 39th president, Jimmy Carter who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100.

The six-day state funeral began in Georgia, continuing to Washington, D.C. and finally interring Carter in the town he called his home, Plains.

Photos: Carter lies in repose at The Carter Center

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Service concludes

Update 4:43 p.m. Jan. 4: The Morehouse College Glee Club singing “Battle Hymn of the Republic” concluded the service. The members of the glee club filed out, paying respects to the former president. Carter Center employees then paid their respects. At 7 p.m., members of the public will be permitted to enter the center around the clock until 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

Carter family, friends speak

Update 4:11 p.m. Jan. 4: Jason Carter, grandson of Jimmy Carter and the chair of The Carter Center Board of Trustees is speaking. He spoke about the president’s legacy and that the week would be for celebrating the “incredible life” of his grandfather.

Tony Lowden, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s personal pastor noted that it is Saturday, remarking that he typically travels to Plains, Georgia, to visit with the former president. He read Psalm 23:2, the same Psalm that was on the blanket that Jimmy Carter would be wrapped in during their weekly meetings.

Chip Carter, the president’s son, spoke, calling The Carter Center “the circle of life” for their family for many years.

“Dad’s aspirations and mom’s dreams have been fulfilled in large part by the people here and by what he did as president and governor,” Chip Carter said.

Carter’s casket taken into the Carter Center

Update 4 p.m. ET Jan. 4: Members of the military served as pallbearers and took Carter’s casket from the hearse that carried him from the Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus to his childhood home, through Plains, Georgia, to the State Capitol Atlanta and now finally to the center where he will lie in repose until Tuesday.

“Hail to the Chief” and “America the Beautiful” were played to honor the former president.

Motorcade arrives at Carter Center

Update 3:45 p.m. ET Jan. 4: The honor guard is in position and the motorcade is approaching the Carter Center.

Carter’s motorcade arrives in Atlanta, on way to Carter Center

Update 3:33 p.m. ET Jan. 4: The motorcade bringing Carter to Atlanta arrived at the State Capitol at about 3:14 p.m. and then departed about five minutes later after a moment of silence, WSB reported. It is on the way to the Carter Center.

Photos: Images of Carter’s journey to Atlanta

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Carter’s journey continues to Atlanta

Update 11:06 a.m. ET Jan 4: Carter’s motorcade has departed Archery, Georgia, the site of his boyhood home and national historic park, en route to Atlanta. He is expected to arrive at the Georgia State Capitol at 3 p.m. ET, WSB reported.

Carter arrives at boyhood farm

Update 10:59 a.m. ET Jan 4: Carter has arrived at his boyhood farm, now a part of the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park. A bell is being rung 39 times to honor the 39th president. The man ringing the bell was a ranger at the park and is from southern Georgia, CNN reported on air.

According to the park’s website, “The Boyhood Farm, once owned by Earl Carter, Jimmy Carter’s father, has a rich history dating back to 1928 when it came under the Carters’ ownership.” The future president lived there “from the age of four until he left for college, and it holds some of his earliest and most cherished memories.”

While a park, the farm still grows some crops throughout the year including “sugarcane, cotton, corn, tomatoes, and, of course, peanuts, a crop closely associated with the Carters. Visitors can witness firsthand the timeless charm of farm life and the enduring connection to Jimmy Carter’s roots.”

Carter taken from Phoebe Sumter Medical Center

Update 10:26 a.m. ET Jan. 4: Carter has been placed in the hearse by his former Secret Service agents who protected him during his life. They flanked the car as it awaited departure from the hospital complex.

They walked slowly with the hearse, with their hands on the vehicle as it pulled away from the building and down the driveway.

When it stopped at the property exit, they stepped away, facing the car, and placing their hands over their hearts in final tribute.

Original report: The Carter family will meet at the Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, The Associated Press reported.

His former Secret Service agents who protected him will be the pallbearers, walking next to the hearse as it leaves the hospital en route to Plains.

The motorcade will pass through the small town, passing the home where his wife Rosalynn Carter grew up. The first lady died in 2023 at the age of 96. It will also pass the family peanut warehouse, the old train depot which was Carter’s campaign headquarters and his younger brother Billy’s gas station.

It will also go past his church where Rosalynn is buried and where he will be laid to rest next week.

Eventually, he will be taken to Atlanta, where he will lie in repose at the Carter Center.

The public will be able to pay their respect from 7 p.m. Saturday until 6 a.m. on Tuesday, WSB reported. He will then be taken to Washington, D.C. where he will lie in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. He will then return to Georgia for a private internment.

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