“Amazing woman”: Rosalynn Carter, the former first lady, was laid to rest in her hometown of Plains

"Amazing woman": Rosalynn Carter, the former first lady, was laid to rest in her hometown of Plains
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Three days of memorials were concluded on Wednesday with the former first lady Rosalynn Carter‘s burial on the Carter family’s Plains property.

Friends and family gathered at the Carters’ home church, Maranatha Baptist Church, for a private funeral service.

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Before then, people like Americus resident Angela Foster would occasionally pass through the old Plains High School, which is now home to the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site headquarters.

Foster visited the former Plains High School to offer her written condolences and worked for Carter at her foundation, which supported caregivers.

She described Carter as having legendary kindness and compassion.

“The world would be such a better place if everyone had that compassion and love for each other,” she remarked.

Foster was accompanied by her Macon friend Myrtle Habersham, who was also acquainted with Carter from their mutual employment as caregivers.

Habersham remarked, “She’s someone I always remember and somebody I’m going to miss.” “Every year, she sends me a small Christmas card with a little note on it, signed by both her and the president. Thus, once more, an amazing woman.

The livestream of Carter’s funeral was available for viewing in the auditorium of the former school. However, the majority of people were waiting for the funeral procession by lining the sides of Plains’ main drag.

Vernita Sampson, a school bus driver in Sumter County, was one of the people who traveled to Plains to witness the procession. After she dropped off students from the county chapter of Future Farmers of America, she stood on a corner near a peanut warehouse.

She sort of accepted Carter’s passing as a loss.

Sampson remarked, “Well, we actually gain because of the examples that they set before us; we don’t lose anything.” “If we keep going in that direction, things will get bigger, stronger, and better.”

Plains native Letitia Burks was also waiting for the motorcade. She recalled seeing the Carters’ bicycle at the neighborhood Boys and Girls Club and other places in town. Burks skipped work to go to the parade.

Burks remarked, “It was a good place to be raised.” It is a stunning location. We are all grieving Rosalynn’s loss as a single, large family. Each of them had had a fulfilling life. However, we must now put all of our attention on Mr. Carter and ensure his wellbeing.

Because, as Burks noted, taking care of one another is just what neighbors do. Jimmy Carter, the 99-year-old former president, has been in hospice care for ten months. In the 1980s, the couple returned to Plains, where they had grown up.

For the precessional, Roddy Nixon traveled from Warner Robins to Plains.

Nixon, who has made several trips to Plains, stated, “President Carter has just always had an influence on me.” President Carter and I have attended Sunday school services together. Simply put, they were a dynamic team. He really said it best, in my opinion: “Without her, there would be no him.”

Rosalynn Carter is well-known for being her husband’s confidante while he was president, even going so far as to testify before Congress and attend Cabinet meetings.

The majority of those present at the grand procession were the Carters’ neighbors. Though they own a house in Plains, Michael and Susan Smith reside in Florida. They came down to share memories of the couple and pay their final respects to Rosalynn, along with a large number of the Carters’ neighbors.

“We used to sit on the balcony during the Plains lighting of the Christmas parade and put our chairs up, and my granddaughters were little at the time,” Michael Smith recalled. “And the Carters would consistently emerge onto the balcony… They would say, “Merry Christmas, girls,” as they peered down at them. Something they’ll take note of.

Following the procession, Rosalynn Carter was buried close to the Carter family home.

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