Memorials begin for Rosalynn Carter; Bidens to attend Atlanta service

Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Three days of memorial services began Monday for former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who will be buried at the family residence Wednesday in Plains, Ga.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden planned to travel to Atlanta on Tuesday to attend a tribute service for Carter alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and the second gentleman Douglas Emhoff at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University.

Carter died Nov. 19 at 96, following a lifetime of public service and humanitarianism alongside her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, to whom she was married for 77 years.

On Monday, Rosalynn Carter's remains were transferred from Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus to a hearse that led a procession through her hometown, which was followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at Georgia Southwestern State University, Carter's alma mater.

The motorcade plans to depart on a three-hour drive to the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, where the family will honor the cherished matriarch with a private ceremony in the lobby beginning around 3:30 p.m.

Next, Carter will lay in repose from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Carter Presidential Library and Museum, which will be open to the public.

Carter's body will be transported back to Plains following the Tuesday memorial attended by Bidens, who were planning to depart Atlanta for a campaign event in Denver.

The former first lady's funeral will be held Wednesday at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, with attendance limited to family and close friends.

Afterward, the casket will make one last pass in the motorcade along the downtown areas of Bond Street and Highway 280, where residents were preparing to pay their respects by standing along the route, before Carter is laid to rest.

Some of the services will be televised by local news channels, while condolence books will be available to sign at Georgia Southwestern State University, the Plains Welcome Center, Plains High School and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta.

Carter, who was diagnosed with dementia in May, is survived by four children, 11 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and her husband, who turned 99 on Oct. 1.