ATLANTA — The first of three services to honor the life of former President Jimmy Carter has concluded at the Carter Center.
Carter, the 39th President of the United States, passed away on Dec. 29 at his home in Plains, Ga. He was 100.
The beloved late president and his family traveled from Plains to Atlanta on Saturday, making stops at Carter’s boyhood home and the Georgia State Capitol before a service at the Carter Center.
During the service, son Chip Carter, grandson Jason Carter and the Carters’ personal pastor Tony Lowden gave emotional tributes to the former president.
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“It’s amazing what you can cram into 100 years,” Jason Carter joked.
Jason Carter spoke highly of the Carter Center and those who worked alongside his grandfather. He said those at the Carter Center and beyond are the reasons the former president’s legacy has lived on as it has.
“I know in my heart, as you all do, that his legacy will live on. Not only because of the millions of people he touched across the globe, but specifically because of your spirit and your knowledge and the work and the track record that you do every day,” he said.
Chip Carter, the second son of former President Jimmy and first lady Rosalynn Carter, commented on the love he got to feel from the people of Georgia who lined the roads and interstates as they traveled from Plains to Atlanta.
He told stories and anecdotes remembering his parents, including the time he brought home a failing grade in Latin. He said his father spent every day of Christmas vacation learning Latin from a textbook before sitting down and teaching his son the words he had learned. He said his teacher let him retake the test after the break, and he got every question correct.
Pastor Tony Lowden is the personal pastor to the Carters. He said he used to spend every Saturday traveling down to Plains to sit with President and Mrs. Carter.
He said the former president would read from Psalm 23.
“You can use your spiritual imagination. For almost two years, our friend, number 39, President Carter, Pop Pop, Dad, wrapped in a blanket, says Psalm 23,” Lowden said.
The former president will now lie in repose at the Carter Center until 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday when he will travel to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
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