Rosalynn Carter: Former first lady's gravesite embodies love of family, hometown
PLAINS, Ga. - After three days of tributes and memorials, former first lady Rosalynn Carter has been laid to rest in the Georgia town where she lived most of her life.
Carter, who died Nov. 19 at the age of 96, had her intimate funeral on Wednesday at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, where she and her husband spent decades welcoming guests. Earlier tributes were held in nearby Americus and Atlanta.
The proceedings Wednesday underscored her simpler constants. The sanctuary in Plains seats fewer people than the balcony at Glenn Memorial in Atlanta. Maranatha, tucked away at the edge of Plains where the town gives way to cotton fields, has no powerful organ; instead, the wooden cross her husband made and offering plates he turned on his lathe in his workshop. Some of the congregants wore casual attire.
The former president, now 99 and in hospice care, sat in a wheelchair next to Maranatha’s front pew, wearing a dark suit and tie to say goodbye to his wife of 77 years.
PHOTOS/VIDEO: FUNERAL SERVICE FOR FORMER FIRST LADY ROSALYNN CARTER | NOV. 29, 2023
Following the funeral, the family walked alongside an SUV carrying Jimmy Carter as Rosalynn Carter was carried for the last time through the town where she lived for more than 80 of her 96 years.
The route ended in what locals call "the Carter compound," property that includes the modest one-story ranch house that they built in 1961 as well as security outposts for the Secret Service agents who protected her for 47 years.
Carter was buried near a willow tree on the property. The tree is located near the edge of a pond where she and her husband practiced fly-fishing.
Her grave is within view of the front porch of the home where the 39th American president still lives. When Carter dies, he will be buried alongside her.
"He never wants to be very far from her," Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander said.
The Carters have deeded the 11-acre property to the National Park Service, so the grounds will be turned into a museum after their deaths.
"He knows this will make Plains a tourist attraction for eternity," said Jill Stuckey, who owns the Plains Bed & Breakfast, located a half-block from the Carters' home.
Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter attend Former Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter's fundraiser for his 1976 Presidential run at Royal Coach Inn Atlanta Georgia February 14, 1976 (Photo By Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
In an interview on C-SPAN2 interview in 2006, Carter said: "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."
As a child, Jimmy Carter briefly lived next door to Rosalynn, and the two began dating in 1945. The couple married the next year.
"Plains is where our hearts have always been," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.