Rosalynn Carter’s funeral service in Plains today: What to know

Maranatha Baptist Church is seen early on Wednesday as the town of Plains, Georgia, prepares to say the last goodbye, honoring the life and legacy of Rosalynn Carter, on Wednesday, Nov 29, 2023.

Miguel Martinez /miguel.martinezjimenez@ajc.com

Credit: Miguel Martinez

Credit: Miguel Martinez

Maranatha Baptist Church is seen early on Wednesday as the town of Plains, Georgia, prepares to say the last goodbye, honoring the life and legacy of Rosalynn Carter, on Wednesday, Nov 29, 2023. Miguel Martinez /miguel.martinezjimenez@ajc.com

Rosalynn Carter will be laid to rest today in the small rural town of Plains.

The family motorcade carrying the remains of the former first lady will arrive shortly before 11 a.m. at Maranatha Baptist Church. A funeral service will be attended by family members and invited friends.

The motorcade will then depart the church around 12:30 p.m. It will travel through Plains to the modest ranch house of Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter for a private burial on the couple’s property.

The former first lady died Nov. 19 at the age of 96. Former President Jimmy Carter, 99, entered home hospice care in February. The couple had celebrated its 77th wedding anniversary earlier this year.

Rosalynn Carter began her final journey on Monday morning, when the Carter family motorcade stopped in Americus at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center, where pallbearers transferred the former first lady’s remains to a hearse. The motorcade then traveled to Georgia Southwestern State University, her alma mater, to lay wreaths.

The procession arrived in Atlanta on Monday afternoon. Mourners paid their respects that night at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, where Rosalynn Carter lay in public repose.

On Tuesday, a memorial service was held at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on Emory University’s campus in Atlanta. Attendees included former President Carter, who made his first public appearance, and President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton and several former first ladies.

The motorcade headed home to Plains late Tuesday. Workers there put up metal barricades on the sides of Highway 280, the main thoroughfare in Plains, a town of roughly 600 residents about 150 miles south of Atlanta. Some side streets are lined with ribbons that say “Rosalynn Carter.”

Wednesday’s funeral service will be livestreamed on ajc.com. Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporters and photographers are in Plains and will file dispatches. Previous coverage can be found here.

Here is a map of Wednesday’s motorcade through Plains: