Jimmy Carter remembered by grandsons, friends, President Biden at National Cathedral funeral

[Episcopal News Service] Family members, friends, former colleagues, members of Congress and all five living U.S. presidents gathered Jan. 9 to pay tribute to former President Jimmy Carter, who was mourned at his state funeral held at Washington National Cathedral, the landmark Episcopal cathedral in the nation’s capital city.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump sat together in the front rows, alongside President Joe Biden, and Biden was among several people who gave eulogies for Carter, who died Dec. 29 at age 100.

Biden recalled a friendship that dated to 1974, when he was a senator from Delaware and one of the first Democrats to endorse Carter’s candidacy for president. “It was an endorsement based on what I believe is Jimmy Carter’s enduring attribute, character,” Biden said. “Character, I believe, is destiny – destiny in our lives, and quite frankly destiny in the life of the nation. “

“Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me … strength of character is more than title or the power we hold,” Biden continued. “It’s the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect. That everyone, and I mean everyone, deserves an even shot.”

Carter, a lifelong Georgia resident, served for one term as the United States’ 39th president, from 1977-1981, and went on to work for peace and human rights. In 2002, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts,” most notably in the Middle East.

National Cathedral, the seat of both The Episcopal Church’s presiding bishop and the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, had been chosen for several past presidential funerals, including services for Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush. At Carter’s funeral, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe officiated, with Washington Bishop Mariann Budde and National Cathedral Dean Randy Hollerith.

The funeral’s service program is available here.

“With faith in Jesus Christ, we receive the body of our brother James for burial,” Rowe said before the procession that began the service. “Let us pray with confidence to God, the giver of life, that he will raise him to perfection in the company of the saints.”

The two-hour funeral included posthumous tributes from Carter’s predecessor, former President Gerald Ford, who died in 2006, and Carter’s vice president, Walter Mondale, who died in 2021.

Ford’s son Steven Ford read his father’s eulogy, noting how Carter had delivered the eulogy at Gerald Ford’s funeral at National Cathedral. Despite Ford being a Republican and Carter being a Democrat, they forged a friendship that transcended politics and their respective roots in Michigan and Georgia.

“Distances have a way of vanishing when measured in values rather than miles,” Steven Ford said, quoting his father. “And it was because of our shared values that Jimmy and I respected each other as adversaries even before we cherished one another as der friends. … I’m looking forward to our reunion. We have much to catch up on.”

Ted Mondale read a tribute that he said was written by his father in 2015. “While we had only four years in the White House, he achieved so much in that time,” Walter Mondale wrote. “It stood as a marker for Americans dedicated to justice and decency.”

Three of Carter’s grandsons spoke at the service. Joshua Carter read a passage from Romans 8, which he described as “the bedrock of my grandfather’s faith.”

Joshua Carter prefaced the reading by describing his joy when joining his grandmother, Rosalynn Carter, in attending the Sunday school class in Plains, Georgia, that his grandfather, a Baptist, had taught nearly all his adult life. Most of the people attending those classes were visitors, not members of the congregation.

“The church was full of people from all over the country of all different backgrounds and beliefs,” Joshua Carter said. “And my grandfather would address the most diverse Sunday class ever assembled.”

Grandson James Carter read the Gospel passage, Matthew 5:1:16, that includes the Beatitudes and Jesus’ command to his followers to “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Another tribute was offered by grandson Jason Carter. “From the moment that he woke up until he laid his head, his life was a testament to the goodness of God,” Jason Carter said. “And I thank all of you for being here to celebrate this life.”

Other attendees included Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, first lady Jill Biden, former Vice President Dan Quayle, former Vice President Al Gore, former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former first lady Laura Bush, former Vice President Mike Pence and former first lady Melania Trump.

Musical selections included performances by the Armed Forces Chorus, the United States Marine Chamber Orchestra, the United States Coast Guard Band and the Cathedral Choir.

The Rev. Andrew Young, a civil rights leader who served as Carter’s ambassador to the United Nations, said in his homily that Carter had a “tough mind and tender heart.”

“I’ve known President Carter more than half of my life, and I never cease to be surprised, I never cease to be enlightened, I never cease to be inspired by the little deeds of love and mercy that he shared with us every day of his life,” Young said.

Carter was “a truly great president” for the sensitivity and spirituality that he brought to the challenges of leading such a diverse nation, Young said.

“Jimmy Carter was a blessing that helped to create a great United States of America,” he said. “For all of us, and many who are not able to be here, I want to say, thank you. You have been a blessing from God, and your spirit will remain with us.”

After Young’s homily, country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performed a rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

Carter was born on Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. He was a peanut farmer and a U.S. Navy veteran and served as the governor of Georgia from 1971-75 before being elected president. In the years after they left the White House, he and his wife also became known as supporters, spokespeople and prominent volunteers for the home-building charity Habitat for Humanity.

Biden has declared Jan. 9 a national day of mourning, with federal agencies closed and federal employees given the day off work in observance of Carter’s death. American flags are being flown at half-staff at the White House and at all public buildings and grounds for the month.

After the funeral, Carter is expected to be buried in his hometown, Plains, next to Rosalynn Carter, who died in November 2023.

– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.