ATLANTA (Nov. 27, 2023) — An invitation-only tribute service for former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, featuring family members and some of her favorite Scripture passages and songs, will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the campus of Emory University. Mrs. Carter’s surviving grandchildren will serve as honorary pallbearers.
Members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will provide gathering music, including some of Mrs. Carter’s most beloved tunes and an arrangement by legendary ASO conductor Robert Shaw and Alice Parker. Pianist David Osborne, long a favorite of Mrs. Carter and her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, will play a medley of hymns as a prelude to the service. The service will include musical performances by the ASO Chamber Chorus and family friends Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.
The Rev. Mark Westmoreland, pastor of Glenn Memorial, will give the call to worship and invocation, followed by opening remarks by Pastor Tony Lowden, President and Mrs. Carter’s personal pastor. Mrs. Carter’s son James Earl “Chip” Carter III will welcome attendees, and daughter Amy Carter will present a reading. One grandson and three of Mrs. Carter’s great-grandchildren will read Scripture passages, and tributes will be delivered by longtime aide and friend Kathryn Cade, journalist Judy Woodruff, and grandson Jason Carter.
The service will close with Lowden’s benediction and a song by the ASO Chamber Chorus. Osborne will play a recessional song, followed by a postlude by organist Norman Mackenzie and the ASO Brass Quartet.
Expected Guests
Here is a partial list of people expected to attend the tribute service:
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff
Former first lady Laura Bush
Former first lady Michelle Obama
Former first lady Melania Trump
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and first lady Marty Kemp
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and his daughter, Bailey
Emory University President Gregory L. Fenves
Former Emory Presidents Claire E. Sterk, James W. Wagner, and William M. Chace
Multiple members of Congress and Georgia elected officials
Motorcade Routes
Before the Tuesday service, the funeral motorcade will begin at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta. It will depart at noon from the Center via John Lewis Freedom Parkway toward Ponce de Leon Avenue, where the motorcade will turn right. Continuing east, the motorcade will then turn left on Clifton Road Northeast and left again onto North Decatur Road. It will arrive at Glenn Memorial Church on the campus of Emory University for the service honoring Mrs. Carter.
After the service ends about 2:45 p.m., the motorcade will depart Emory University via westbound North Decatur Road before turning left onto Briarcliff and continuing on Moreland Avenue, then turn right at John Lewis Freedom Parkway. Crossing Highland Avenue, the motorcade will pass The Carter Presidential Center for a final time before joining I-75/I-85 South for the return to Plains.
Approaching Macon, the motorcade will proceed on I-475 South, rejoin I-75 South and continue until Exit 149, where it will turn right on GA 49 toward Byron. It will continue 34 miles (utilizing the bypass at Fort Valley) before turning left at Butler on U.S. 19 South for 21 miles and then joining GA 153 south in Ellaville. The motorcade will enter Plains via GA 45 for a private arrival at Maranatha Baptist Church.
The public is welcome to greet the motorcade as it passes by. Please be aware that there may be temporary road closures; be mindful of traffic safety and respect private property.
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Contact: media@cartercenter.org
The Carter Center
Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.
A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
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From the Georgia State House to the White House and for decades after, Rosalynn Carter was actively devoted to building a more caring society.
