What we know about funeral plans for Jimmy Carter

Jeff Barker, Baltimore Sun on Dec 30, 2024

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Funeral services are expected to span several days and include the highest honors for former President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday. He was 100 years old.

Full details are forthcoming, but so far it’s clear that memorials will be held for Carter in Washington, D.C., and his home state of Georgia. He will be buried in a private ceremony in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, according to the Carter Center.

Carter will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, though the timing isn’t clear. President Joe Biden has designated Jan. 9 as a National Day of Mourning for the late president. That date could coincide with Carter lying in state at the Capitol or a funeral at the National Cathedral.

On Jan. 9, as part of Biden’s proclamation, the federal government will close. All U.S. flags will be flown at half-staff for 30 days.

“We’re going to do a major service in Washington, D.C.,” Biden said Sunday without sharing a specific date. “That’s a formal procedure that’s underway.”

What is a state funeral?

A state funeral is a highly scripted ceremony for current or former presidents that can incorporate personal touches specific to the deceased.

Such ceremonies are traditional but not required. The family of Richard Nixon, the first president to resign from office, opted in 1994 to instead hold a service at the Nixon Library and Birthplace in California, where he was buried beside his wife, Patricia.

Presidential funerals traditionally include a flag-draped casket, a period in which the late president lies in state, a flyover of 21 fighter aircraft, and gunfire salutes at military installations, according to the White House Historical Association.

According to the Carter Center, the former president will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, based on an invitation from Congress.

“This will allow an opportunity for the American people to pay their respects to President Carter. This invitation was respectfully and gratefully accepted,” the Carter Center said Monday in a statement.

George H.W. Bush was the last former president to die (in 2018), and a service was held for him at Washington National Cathedral after he lay in state at the Capitol.

Presidential funerals typically include multiple events extending for five days.

Presidents are asked in advance to “plan their own funeral,” the historical association says on its website. That means, it said, that presidents “are able to incorporate personal touches that can elucidate their character and legacy on a national stage for the last time.”

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