Jimmy Carter’s funeral procession began on Saturday in south Georgia, where the 39th U.S. president’s life began over a century ago.
A motorcade bearing Carter’s flag-draped casket departed from Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, escorted by former Secret Service agents who once protected him. These agents served as pallbearers, walking alongside the hearse as it left the campus.
The Carter family—including his four children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren—joined the procession as it traveled through Plains, Carter’s beloved hometown, and past his boyhood home on its way to Atlanta.
Carter passed away on December 29 at his home in Plains at the age of 100.
In downtown Plains, families lined the procession route near the historic train depot that served as Carter’s presidential campaign headquarters. Many carried flowers or wore pins bearing his photo.
‘We want to pay our respects,’ 12-year-old Will Porter Shelbrock told WTOP News, who was born decades after Carter left office in 1981. Shelbrock traveled from Gainesville, Florida, with his grandmother, Susan Cone, 66, to witness Carter’s final journey.
He admired Carter for his humanitarian work, his advocacy for peace, and his environmental efforts, including installing solar panels on the White House.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, who passed away in November 2023, were both born in Plains and spent much of their lives there, apart from Jimmy’s Navy service and his political career as Georgia governor and U.S. president.
Former and current U.S. Secret Service agents assigned to the Carter detail, move the flag-draped casket of former US President Jimmy Carter, at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, as part of his funeral ceremony in Americus, Georgia
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100 at his home in Plains, Georgia
The procession paused at Carter’s boyhood home on the family farm outside Plains, where the National Park Service rang the old farm bell 39 times in honor of his presidency.
From there, Carter’s remains continued to Atlanta for a moment of silence at the Georgia Capitol and a ceremony at the Carter Presidential Center.
In Atlanta, Carter will lie in repose until Tuesday morning before being transported to Washington, D.C., where he will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol.
A state funeral will take place Thursday at 10 a.m. at Washington National Cathedral, followed by a private funeral at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains.
People line the street in Plains, Georgia, before the hearse carrying the casket of former President Jimmy Carter passes through the town
Jimmy Carter will be laid to rest near his home, beside Rosalynn Carter.
This is a developing story.
