WASHINGTON, D.C. — James Earl Carter, Jr., the 39th President of the United States was laid to rest today with a funeral at the National Cathedral in the nation’s capitol. The service was attended by all living Presidents and dignitaries throughout the government and around the world.
Speakers included Steven Ford, the son of the 38th President Gerald Ford, Jason Carter, grandson of President Carter and President Joe Biden who spoke of Carter’s legacy of character.
Steven Ford remarked that Carter gave a eulogy at the funeral of Gerald Ford in 2006 and he was present today to return the favor on behalf of his dad – reading a prepared speech that former President Ford had written prior to his death, “In the summer of 1981, the two of us found ourselves together again, this time aboard Air Force One, bound for the funeral of the great peacemaker Anwar Sadat. There’s an old line to the effect that two presidents in a room is one too many. Frankly, I wondered how awkward that long flight might be to Cairo. And it was a long flight. But the return trip was not nearly long enough, for it was somewhere over the Atlantic that Jimmy and I forged a friendship that transcends politics. We immediately decided to exercise one of the privileges of a former president, forgetting that either one of us had ever said any harsh words about the other one in the heat of battle.”
Jason Carter spoke of how his grandpa was a governor and president but also a regular person who spent 92 years doing things beyond governing at the highest levels. “We call my grandmother Mom Carter, so we spent our time talking about Mom and PawPaw and mostly speaking of the human side of the presidency, just letting people know that they were regular folks. Yes, they spent four years in the governor’s mansion and four years at the White House, but the other 92 years, they spent at home in Plains, Georgia.
And one of the best ways to demonstrate that they’re regular folks is to take them by that home. First of all, it looks like they might have built it themselves. Second of all, my grandfather was likely to show up at the door in some 70s short shorts and crocs.”
Jimmy Carter died December 29, 2024 at the age of 100 in his beloved Plains, Georgia.
