Former President Jimmy Carter honored his late wife, Rosalynn Carter, by attending her memorial service in their native Georgia.
Jimmy, 99, was photographed at the Tuesday, November 28, ceremony, which was held at the Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University in Atlanta. Seated in a wheelchair, Jimmy draped a blanket featuring Rosalynn’s face over his black suit and tie and white dress shirt. Below a portrait of Rosalynn, the blanket featured the family’s last name and the couple’s hometown of Plains, Georgia.
In addition to the Carters’ family and friends, the service was attended by several former presidents and first ladies, including Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and Melania Trump. President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff were also present.
The memorial also featured a performance from country stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who were friends of the former first lady. Rosalynn’s funeral will be held at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains on Wednesday, November 29.
The memorial service was held just over one week after Rosalynn died at age 96. “Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, a passionate champion of mental health, caregiving and women’s rights, passed away Sunday, November 19, at 2:10 p.m. at her home in Plains, Georgia,” the Carter Center said in a statement earlier this month. “She died peacefully, with family by her side.”
Jimmy, meanwhile, called his wife his “equal partner in everything I ever accomplished” in a statement of his own, adding, “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.”
Rosalynn, who was married to Jimmy for 77 years, is survived by the pair’s four children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Two days before Rosalynn’s death, the Carter Center announced that she had entered hospice care amid her battle with dementia. “She and President Carter are spending time with each other and their family,” the organization said on November 17. Jimmy, for his part, entered hospice care in February following “a series of short hospital stays,” according to the Carter Center.
Throughout her life, Rosalynn advocated for mental health awareness and care. “One in 10 older Americans have dementia, a condition that affects overall mental health,” the Carter family said in a May statement, revealing the matriarch’s dementia diagnosis.
“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 doctor’s offices around the country.”
Rosalynn and Jimmy founded the Carter Center nonprofit in 1982 and helped build and repair over 4,000 homes for Habitat for Humanity.
