WASHINGTON, D.C.—Mourners and dignitaries gathered Thursday morning at Washington National Cathedral to honor the life of former President Jimmy Carter.
Speakers at Carter’s state funeral, including President Joe Biden and the sons of Carter’s political contemporaries delivering eulogies written by their fathers, described the Georgia native and U.S. Navy veteran as a man committed to civil and human rights who led a courageous life of faith and service.
In his eulogy, Biden said Carter, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, established “a model post-presidency,” depicting the Georgian as a man of “character” who held a “deep Christian faith in God.”
“Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me, and through his life, taught me, that strength of character is more than title or the power we hold — it’s the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect — that everyone, and I mean everyone, deserves an even shot,” he said.
Carter died at 100 in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, on Dec. 29. Thursday’s funeral marked his final memorial in Washington after his body arrived in the nation’s capital Jan. 7.
The former Peach State governor lived the longest of any U.S. president. Despite serving just one White House term from 1977 to 1981, his presidency featured key diplomatic deals and energy policy initiatives, among other achievements.
After leaving the White House, he established the Carter Center in Atlanta. He authored books and spent a great deal of time volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit that works to build affordable homes.
The many state funeral attendees also included the four living former U.S. presidents: Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Jimmy Carter: A life of service
Biden said his fellow Democratic president’s life was “the story of a man who never let the tides of politics divert him from his mission to serve and shape the world.”
Steven Ford delivered a eulogy written by his late father, former President Gerald Ford.
“Honesty and truth telling were synonymous with the name Jimmy Carter,” Gerald Ford wrote. “Those traits were instilled in him by his loving parents, Lillian and Earl Carter, and the strength of his honesty was reinforced by his upbringing in the rural South poised on the brink of social transformation.”
Carter won the presidency against Gerald Ford, the Republican incumbent, in 1976. The two were dear friends, Steven Ford said.
Andrew Young, who was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Carter administration, offered the homily.
“I don’t mean this with any disrespect, but it’s still hard for me to understand how you could get to be president from Plains, Georgia,” Young jokingly remarked as he paid tribute to Carter.
“I’ve known President Carter for more than half of my life, and I never ceased to be surprised, I never ceased to be enlightened, I never ceased to be inspired by the little deeds of love and mercy that he shared with us every day of his life,” said Young, who also served as mayor of Atlanta and represented Georgia in Congress.
“It was President James Earl Carter that, for me, symbolized the greatness of the United States of America.”
Ted Mondale, son of Carter’s vice president, Walter Mondale, read the eulogy written by his late father.
Though he and Carter only had four years in the Oval Office, Carter “achieved so much in that time — it stood as a marker for Americans dedicated to justice and decency,” Walter Mondale wrote.
Three of Carter’s grandsons — Josh, James and Jason — honored their late grandfather during the service.
Josh Carter said his late grandfather spent the entire time he knew him helping people in need.
“He built houses for people who needed homes, he eliminated diseases in forgotten places, he waged peace anywhere in the world, wherever he saw a chance,” Josh Carter said.
“He loved people, and whenever he told these stories in Sunday school, he always said he did it for one simple reason: He worshiped the Prince of Peace, and he commanded it.”
Country stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who are among Habitat for Humanity’s most recognizable volunteers, sang John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
Back to Plains
Carter, who was a peanut farmer, and his late wife, Rosalynn Carter, hailed from the small southwest Georgia town of Plains, where they returned after living in the White House.
Rosalynn Carter died in November 2023 at the age of 96. She and Jimmy Carter were married for 77 years.
The state funeral followed Carter’s body lying in state at the U.S. Capitol throughout this week. Mourners paid their respects to the former president in a public viewing that began Tuesday night and ended Thursday morning. Biden declared Jan. 9 a national day of mourning to honor the former president.
Carter’s body will make its way to Georgia on Thursday, where he will have a private funeral service and interment in Plains.
SOURCE: This article was authored by Shauneen Miranda of the Washington State Standard part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Images were added by the Lynnwood Times. Features image courtesy of U.S. Army Spc. David A. Carvajal/Department of Defense.
Author: Washington State Standard
