(AP) — Former President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100. The 39th president of the United States was a Georgia peanut farmer who sought to restore trust in government when he assumed the presidency in 1977 and then built a reputation for tireless work as a humanitarian.
Carter's memorial journey will end at his house in the tiny town of Plains, Georgia, where he grew up on a peanut farm. That is where his wife, Rosalynn, was laid to rest last year in a burial plot that they chose years ago.
But before Carter reaches his humble final destination, there will be an interstate choreography of grief, ceremony and logistics that is characteristic of state funerals. Ever since the nation’s founding, America has bid farewell to former presidents with an intricate series of events weaving together longstanding traditions and personal touches.
President Joe Biden has scheduled a state funeral in Washington for Carter on Jan. 9. Biden also declared Jan. 9 as a National Day of Mourning across the U.S. and ordered U.S. flags to fly at half-staff for 30 days from Sunday.
Many details of his funeral remain under wraps, at the discretion of the family and military units that are responsible for carrying out the plans. Most presidents lie in state in the U.S. Capitol, and there is usually a service at Washington National Cathedral.
Biden let slip last year that Carter had asked him to give a eulogy. (“Excuse me, I shouldn’t say that,” Biden admitted.) He noted Sunday that his team is working with Carter's family and others “to see to it that he is remembered appropriately, here in the United States and around the world.” Carter’s son Chip is his main point of contact, though Biden said he has spoken with all the Carter children.
He described a process underway “that will take a little time” but will result in a “major service in Washington, D.C.” for Carter, which Biden scheduled for Jan. 9.
Carter died Sunday, coming up on two years after entering hospice care, at his home in Plains, Georgia.
At age 52, Carter was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 1977, after defeating President Gerald R. Ford in the 1976 general election. Carter left office on Jan. 20, 1981, following his 1980 general election loss to Ronald Reagan.
Biden broke from his family vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands to remember Carter, recalling his predecessor as a role model and friend.
America and the world lost a “remarkable leader” with Carter’s death, Biden said, adding that he had spoken to several of the former president's children and was working with them to formalize memorial arrangements in Washington. Speaking for roughly 10 minutes, Biden remembered Carter as a humanitarian and statesman, someone he couldn't imagine walking past a person in need without trying to help them. He represented “the most fundamental human values we can never let slip away,” Biden said.
The president repeatedly praised Carter's “simple decency” and his values, saying some will see him as a man of honesty and humility from a bygone era.
“I don’t believe it’s a bygone era. I see a man not only of our time, but for all times,” Biden said. “To know his core, you need to know he never stopped being a Sunday school teacher at that Baptist church in Plains, Georgia.”
Carter was preceded in death by his wife, Rosalynn, who died Nov. 19. 2023.
They were married more than 77 years but their relationship went back even further. Jimmy’s mother, “Miss Lillian,” delivered Eleanor Rosalynn Smith at the Smith home in Plains on Aug. 18, 1927. The nurse brought her eldest child back a few days later to visit, meaning the longest-married presidential couple met as preschooler and newborn.
"Rosie," as the former president would sometimes call her, became his trusted campaign aide and White House adviser, surprising Washington by sitting in on Cabinet meetings. Then they traveled the world together as co-founders of The Carter Center.
Most of the nation saw the former president for the last time at Rosalynn Carter’s funeral.
