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Jimmy Carter says final goodbye to wife Rosalynn at intimate funeral

Written by Sophia Edwards — 0 Views

Former President Jimmy Carter was wheeled into the small-town Georgia church where he taught Sunday School to pay his final respects Wednesday to his late wife Rosalynn at an intimate, private funeral service.

The 99-year-old’s outfit included a red lei, an apparent homage to the time he and Rosalynn spent in Hawaii while Jimmy was serving in the Navy.

The 39th president listened as his sons Jeff and Jack spoke of their mother’s compassion during the service at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, and as Pastor Tony Lowden offered a personal eulogy for the former first lady.

“She was kind, loving, and caring,” grandson Josh Carter said at the service, according to The New York Times.

Pastor Tony Lowden described Rosalynn as “one of the greatest women in the world” and said that no one on the planet could “say anything bad” about her. 

“Her family, her neighbors, her friends all knew her to be someone who did not think of herself, but rather others, and others’ needs,” he said.

His eulogy was seemingly premised on Proverbs 31:10-31 also known as the ‘virtuous woman’ scripture.

Wednesday marked the end of three days of tributes to Rosalynn, who died Nov. 19 at the age of 96.

During a public memorial service on Tuesday, the Carters’ longtime friend and personal minister emphasized that Rosalynn’s work — from the Georgia statehouse when Jimmy Carter was governor to the 120-plus countries that she visited doing humanitarian work — was all an extension of her faith.

Former President Jimmy Carter arrives for the funeral service for his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter. AP
Rosalynn Carter was celebrated by her family and closest friends Wednesday at her funeral in the same tiny town where she and Jimmy Carter were born and where their home was based. ERIK S LESSER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Rosalynn Carter’s casket can be seen at Maranatha Baptist Church, in Plains, Georgia, U.S. November 29, 2023. via REUTERS

“Oh, how she loved J.C. — Jimmy Carter. I also have to tell you that she loved J.C. — Jesus Christ,” Lowden said, recalling how she read the Bible in English and Spanish and took seriously the New Testament teaching that “faith without works is dead.”

“When she read the word of God, it went to her head, and then it went to her heart” and then into action, Lowden said. “From her head to her heart to her hands, and she made it a habit. 

“If you love our first lady who was global, make it a habit. Take your passion and make it a habit. Link your passion up with compassion. Then there will be peace. Then there will be love.”

Former President Jimmy Carter arrives for the funeral service for his wife, in Plains, Ga. Alex Brandon/UPI/Shutterstock
Amy Carter (left), and her husband John Joseph “Jay” Kelly (right), arrived for the funeral service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Maranatha Baptist Church. AP

The 39th president followed his late wife’s casket on the way out of the church.  

Following Wednesday’s ceremony, Rosalynn Carter was buried in a plot she will one day share with her husband, who entered hospice care in February.

The motorcade carrying her remains from Marantha for the last time traveled through the small town where she made a lifetime of memories, passing holiday lights and decorations that included a photo collage in front of a Christmas tree featuring the so-called “First Lady of Plains.”

It then passed by the old high school where Rosalynn was a valedictorian during World War II and the Plains Baptist Church, where she and the former president made a name for themselves arguing for racial integration.

Pastor Tony Lowden speaks during a funeral service for former US First Lady Rosalynn Carter, at Maranatha Baptist Church. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Josh Carter, a grandchild of former US President Jimmy Carter, spoke during the funeral service. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Charles Jeffrey Carter reads a scripture during the funeral service for his great-grandmother. via REUTERS
The former first lady died on Nov. 19. She was 96. Alex Brandon/UPI/Shutterstock
Law enforcement lined the street near the Carter compound where the funeral service was being held. AP
Well-wishers line the route as a motorcade brings family and invited guests to Rosalynn Carter’s funeral service. ERIK S LESSER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
An Armed Forces body bearer team carries the casket after the funeral service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter. AP
The former first lady will be buried in a plot she will one day share with her husband of 77 years. AP

From there, the motorcade snaked through the commercial district where Rosalynn served as Jimmy’s partner in the peanut business and the old train depot from where she helped run his 1976 presidential campaign.

It even passed the Plains Methodist Church, where Rosalynn married Navy Lt. Jimmy Carter at the age of 18 in 1946 as it made its way to the “Carter compound,” which includes their one-story house, the pond where she fished and security outposts for the Secret Service agents who protected her for nearly 50 years.

There, she will be buried in view of the front porch of her longtime home, where her husband still lives.

With Post wires.