Thirty-ninth President Jimmy Carter on Tuesday made a rare appearance at a tribute service for his late wife and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.
Rosalynn Carter passed away on November 19 at the couple’s home in Plains, Georgia at age 96. She had only days before entered hospice care after being diagnosed with dementia earlier this year.
The 99-year-old former President Carter has himself been in hospice care since February. He was wheeled in to the memorial service on a hospital bed.
On Tuesday, Carter joined other dignitaries at the Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the campus of Emory University to pay tribute to Rosalynn Carter.
Among the attendees were current President Biden and Vice President Harris along with First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, former President Clinton and his wife former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton, and three other former First Ladies: Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and Melania Trump.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and the state’s First Lady Marty Kemp were also in attendance, along with Mayor Andre Dickens of Atlanta and Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.
Through their decades of diplomatic and charity work with the Carter Center and Habitat for Humanity, the Carters redefined the public service role of First Couple post-Presidency.
Together as a couple, the Carters made a final public appearance in their Georgia hometown on Saturday, September 23, attending the Plains Peanut Festival.
President Biden had ordered flags flown at half-staff this past weekend in Mrs. Carter’s honor.
Along with her husband the former President, Rosalynn Carter is survived by the couple’s four children and a combined 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
