Jimmy Carter attends funeral of late wife Rosalynn in Georgia hometown: Updates
Jimmy Carter, 99, attended the funeral service of his late wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter his hometown of Plains, Georgia
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Former President Jimmy Carter appeared beside his family to honour his late wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, at a private funeral service on Wednesday in Plains, Georgia.
Carter, a renowned mental health advocate, died on November 19 at the age of 96, just two days after entering hospice. Earlier this year she was diagnosed with dementia.
Wednesday’s funeral was a private event for Carter’s close friends and family, marking the end of three days of memorial and tribute services.
During the service, several of Carter’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren spoke at her funeral, recalling her empathetic nature.
The funeral service will be followed by a private internment, closed to the media, at the Carter family residence.
It comes one day after a public tribute service to the late first lady which was attended by President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, former President Bill Clinton and former First Ladies Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Melania Trump.
WATCH: Love letter from Jimmy to Rosalynn read at memorial
Why were flags flown at half-staff for Rosalynn Carter?
Following the death of the former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who passed away at the age of 96 on 19 November, the White House took measures to pay homage to her.
President Joe Biden signed a proclamation that ordered all US flags to be lowered down to half-staff from 25 November “as a mark of respect for the memory” of Ms Carter.
The proclamation said all US flags will be flown at half-staff, meaning the flag would be dropped down to somewhere around the middle of the pole.
US flags on the White House, all public buildings and grounds, naval stations, military posts, and naval vessels throughout the country and its territories would fly at half-staff from 25 November until 29 November at sunset, when Ms Carter was due to be laid to rest.
Mr Biden followed in the proclamation that this also applied to all US embassies, legations, consular offices and all other facilities abroad.
Read on:
Why are flags being flown at half-staff for Rosalynn Carter?
Why are flags being flown at half-staff in the US?
Who are Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter’s children?
John Carter
John William “Jack” Carter, 76, is the eldest son of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter.
He spent his young adult years at the Georgia Institute of Technology, but later left to join the US Navy and served during the Vietnam War.
He would eventually be discharged after he was caught smoking marijuana while stationed in Idaho, but would later rejoin Georgia Tech and earn a degree in nuclear physics.
Like his father, Mr Carter also had a stint in US politics, winning the Democratic primary for the US Senate of Nevada in 2006, but lost the general election to Republican John Ensign.
James Carter
James Earl “Chip” Carter III, 73, the second eldest son, was handed down his father’s and grandfather’s name. He later had a son with his first wife Caron Griffin, who he also bestowed the name upon.
He worked in the family peanut warehouse for a while before he was elected to the Plains City Council and worked on the Democratic National Committee, he told the University of Georgia.
Donnel Carter
Donnel “Jeff” Carter, 71, is the youngest of the Carter brothers.
He studied geography and computer cartography and later co-founded the company, Computer Mapping Consultants, with his former professor the same year he graduated, he told Time magazine.
He had three children, Joshua, Jeremy and the late James.
Amy Carter
Amy Carter, 56, is the only daughter and youngest child by 15 years of the former president and first lady.
Ms Carter spent her childhood years in the White House while her father was serving as president, putting her in the political and media spotlight at a young age.
She later went on to become known for her political activism, such as participating in protests and sit-ins against US foreign policy in Central America and apartheid in South Africa. On one occasion in 1986, Ms Carter and several others were arrested during a protest against CIA recruitment.
RECAP: Jimmy Carter makes rare public appearance for Rosalynn’s tribute service
Former President Jimmy Carter attended the memorial service of his late wife, Rosalynn Carter, on Tuesday – making a rare public appearance since entering hospice in February.
Mr Carter, 99, emerged from the wings of the Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University in a wheelchair to join the current president and first lady, as well as other former first ladies to pay his respects to his late wife of 77 years.
Read more:
Jimmy Carter seen for the first time since Rosalynn’s death at her tribute
Former President Carter, 99, entered hospice earlier this year
WATCH: Inside Rosalynn Carter’s tribute service
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