NEWS
Former Presidents And First Ladies Expected To Attend Rosalynn Carter’s Memorial Service In Atlanta
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All of the living former first ladies will be attending the memorial service for Rosalynn Carter in Atlanta on Tuesday, along with President Joe Biden and sitting first lady Jill Biden.
Former President Jimmy Carter is expected to attend the service at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the Emory University campus, along with former President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and, in a rare public appearance, Melania Trump. The Bidens are expected to be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff.
Time and time again, during the more than four decades of our friendship — through rigors of campaigns, through the darkness of deep and profound loss — we always felt the hope, warmth, and optimism of Rosalynn Carter, President Biden said in a statement after her death. She will always be in our hearts.
Carter died peacefully on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, just a couple of days after entering hospice care alongside former President Jimmy Carter, 99, at their home in Plains, Ga., her family said. He entered hospice care in February after a series of hospital stays. It was announced in May that she had been diagnosed with dementia.
The Carters were the longest married presidential couple in U.S. history, at 77 years.
“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” President Carter said in a statement after her death. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”
“Besides being a loving mother and extraordinary First Lady, my mother was a great humanitarian in her own right,” said Chip Carter. “Her life of service and compassion was an example for all Americans. She will be sorely missed not only by our family but by the many people who have better mental health care and access to resources for caregiving today.”
Carter was known for her lifetime of advocacy for mental health issues and for caregivers. She founded the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers in 1987.
Mrs. Carter has been the nations leading mental health advocate for much of her life, her family said in a statement announcing her dementia diagnosis. One in 10 older Americans have dementia, a condition that affects overall mental health. We recognize, as she did more than half a century ago, that stigma is often a barrier that keeps individuals and their families from seeking and getting much-needed support. We hope sharing our family’s news will increase important conversations at kitchen tables and in doctors offices around the country.
She is survived by her children — Jack, Chip, Jeff, and Amy — along with 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Observances began Monday morning with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Rosalynn Carter Health and Human Sciences Complex at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, according to the Carter Center. The motorcade then traveled to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, where a repose service from 6 to 10 p.m. allowed members of the public to pay their respects.
A private funeral service for family and friends will be held Wednesday at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains. She will be interred at the Carter family residence.
TMX contributed to this article.
