All the Details on Jimmy Carter's Funeral
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter died at age 100 in his home, his family confirmed today.
"I have one life and one chance to make it count for something," Carter once said. "My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference."
Plans for his funeral will be announced in the coming days.
The last presidential funeral took place in 2018, upon the death of George H. W. Bush. Former presidents, like Carter, are entitled to a state funeral, which historically been five days in length, and involved a procession down Pennsylvania Avenue, lying in state in the U.S. Capitol rotunda, and a service at Washington National Cathedral. Since Bush's death in 2018, eight others have lain in state in the rotunda: Elijah Cummings (October 2019), John Lewis (July 2020), Ruth Bader Ginsburg (September 2020), Bob Dole (December 2021), Harry Reid (January 2022), Donald E. Young (March 2022), Hershel W. "Woody" Williams (July 2022), and Ralph Puckett Jr. (April 2024).
Every president is expected to have funeral plans upon assuming the office. According to the White House Historical Association, "By helping plan their own funeral, presidents are able to incorporate personal touches that can elucidate their character and legacy on a national stage for the last time. In many ways, funeral services are final conversation with the nation, and illustrate something about the man and the way in which he wishes to be remembered."
"I've let my wife be the ultimate judge on what should be done," Carter said in 1995 of his funeral plans. Carter, who returned to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, after his term as president ended, was active in his local community, and taught Sunday School at Maranatha Baptist Church.
His plans have been known for at least two decades now: He hopes to be buried in his front yard in his hometown of Plains. "Plains is special to us. I could be buried in Arlington Cemetery or wherever I want, but my wife was born here and I was born here," he told C-SPAN in December 2006. "Plains is where our hearts have always been." In a profile in 2021 in the Washington Post, Carter told reporters, "We’re going to be buried right there, on that little hill," motioning towards a lawn near a pond on his property.
Carter's home has been part of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Park, established by Congress in 1987 to preserve sites associated with Carter, including his boyhood home, campaign headquarters, and current home of the Carters. His family is buried in Plains. "My first ancestor buried there was born in 1798, and Rosalynn's first ancestor was born in 1787. And since then almost all of us have been born and died in Plains," he told C-SPAN in 1995. Rosalynn, who passed away in November 2023, was laid to rest in Plains.
After surviving a bout with melanoma in 2015, Carter said, "I just thought I had a few weeks left, but I was surprisingly at ease. I’ve had an exciting and adventurous and gratifying existence."
We'll update this with more details about former president Jimmy Carter's funeral as they become available.
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