Spectators bid Jimmy Carter a final goodbye before he leaves Atlanta for Washington, DC
Staff and volunteers at the Carter Presidential Center were among those who bid former President Jimmy Carter goodbye Tuesday before his body and his family left for Washington, D.C. for the final time.
The late president, who died Dec. 29, was set to be taken to the nation’s capital to lie in state, giving lawmakers the opportunity to pay respects before he’s brought back to Georgia for a ceremony and burial.
Although the departure ceremony was slated to start at 9:30 a.m., Joint Task Force-National Capitol Region members announced Monday night that they would be delayed 90 minutes due to inclement weather in Washington, D.C. The departure ceremony from Tuesday had staff and volunteers of the Carter Center wait for the hearse to make its way through the Circle of Flags to bid the 39th president one last goodbye.
The hearse arrived around 10:15 a.m., with military troops and the U.S. Army band marching in position about 30 minutes later. Some minutes after 11 a.m., the body bearers marched alongside Carter’s casket to be transferred to the hearse, with the Army band playing renditions of “Amazing Grace” and “Blessed Assurance.” The Carter family followed suit.
The Carter family then loaded into the motorcade and headed for Dobbins Air Reserve Base, about 20 minutes away from the Carter Center.
In front of the entrance of the Carter Center, Theresa Gonzalez and her young daughter, Isabella, held a green poster that read “Thank you, President Carter.” Gonzalez had left their pediatrician and decided to stop by the Carter Center to bid the former president goodbye with other spectators to thank him for everything he’s done, she said.
What’s next in Jimmy Carter’s funeral events
The motorcade headed for Dobbins Air Reserve Base, where the family was set to board Special Air Mission 39 for Washington, D.C. Friends of the Carters, the Board of Councilors at the Carter Center, Gov. Brian Kemp and local elected officials were invited to view the departure ceremony as Carter’s casket boarded the plane to Washington, D.C.
The plane was expected to arrive at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, at 2:15 p.m. to head to the U.S. Navy Memorial at 3:30 p.m., where his body would be transferred from a hearse to a horse-drawn caisson.
Carter and his family were expected to be taken to the U.S. Capitol and will be carried by military body bearers into the Rotunda. Members of Congress would pay their respects at 4:30 p.m. during service and then, at 6 p.m., Carter was scheduled begin to lying in state until early Thursday.
A national funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday before returning to Plains to be buried next to his wife Rosalynn Carter.
This story was originally published January 7, 2025 at 1:50 PM.
