(Georgia Recorder) — Members of the public who wish to pay their respects to former President Jimmy Carter will have several opportunities in the coming days.
Carter died Sunday at the age of 100. He is the longest-lived president in American history and the only Georgia native to lead the country.
His death has been met with an outpouring of tributes and recognition of Carter’s impact both while in office and after leaving the White House.
“The outpouring of love and support we have received from around the world confirms what we have known all along — Jimmy Carter’s family extends far beyond blood relatives,” Carter’s family said in a statement Friday. “We are sincerely grateful for everyone’s words of comfort and acts of kindness following the passing of such a champion of human rights, justice, and peace.”
The motorcade left Phoebe Sumter Medical Center at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and traveled through Plains, Carter’s hometown and where he and former first lady Rosalynn Carter lived after leaving the White House in 1980.
The procession briefly paused in front of Carter’s boyhood home and family farm, where the National Park Service rang the farm bell 39 times – a recognition of Carter’s role as the 39th president.
By late morning, the motorcade, which included the hearse carrying the late president’s remains, was headed toward Atlanta. Along the way, people turned out in yards and on roadsides in Preston, Ellaville, Butler, Reynolds, and Fort Valley to pay their final respects.
The first stop in Atlanta was at the state Capitol, where Carter once served as governor and a state senator. The motorcade paused in front of the state Capitol for a moment of silence led by Gov. Brian Kemp and other elected officials.
The motorcade traveled a few miles to the Carter Presidential Center, where a private service was held.
Carter will lie in repose at 7 p.m. and continue to do so until 6 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7. Members of the public can visit and pay their respects during this time.
There is currently no public parking at the center due to security restrictions. Instead, visitors are encouraged to take MARTA rail to King Memorial Station, where a shuttle will run every three to five minutes around the clock and bring people to the Carter Presidential Center.
On Tuesday, Carter will begin his final journey to Washington for another round of services, and then Carter’s remains will return to Georgia on Thursday for a private funeral service at Maranatha Baptist Church.
The former president will be buried near his home, where former First Lady Rosalynn Carter was buried in late 2023. The U.S. Navy will conduct what is called a “missing man formation” flyover in honor of Carter’s naval service and role as commander-in-chief.
The public is invited to line the motorcade route as the late president travels through downtown Plains on the way to the Carters’ lifelong home one final time.
