Honoring a Legacy: James Carter's Final Journey at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda

I went to the US Capital Rotunda to give our respect to James Carter at his memorial services.  We watched the coffin of James Carter delivered to the US Capitol Rotunda by horses.

As a member of the Democratic Party, Carter served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975 and in the Georgia State Senate from 1963 to 1967. He served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, and was the longest-lived president in U.S. history and the first to reach the age of 100.

James Earl Carter Jr. was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, at the Wise Sanitarium, where his mother worked as a registered nurse. Born and raised in Plains, Georgia, Carter attended Plains High School from 1937 to 1941, graduating from the 11th grade, as the school did not have a 12th grade. Carter then graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1946 and joined the United States Navy’s submarine service. He married Rosalynn Smith, and they worked closely together throughout their lives. Carter returned home after his military service and revived his family’s peanut-growing business. Opposing racial segregation, he supported the growing civil rights movement and became an activist within the Democratic Party. After serving in the Georgia State Senate and then as governor of Georgia, Carter ran for president in 1976. Initially a dark horse candidate not well known outside Georgia, he secured the Democratic nomination and selected Walter Mondale as his running mate. They narrowly defeated the Republican Party’s ticket of President Gerald Ford and Senator Bob Dole.

Carter died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100. This followed his February 2023 decision to enter hospice.

Shortly after the announcement, President Joe Biden released a statement honoring Carter’s legacy, calling him a “man of principle, faith, and humility”. The Biden administration also announced plans to hold an official state funeral, and a day of mourning for him on January 9, 2025.