Fans Say Final Goodbye to Jimmy Carter as Motorcade Brings Him to Hometown Burial Site

Admirers lined the streets of Carter’s tiny Georgia hometown on Jan. 9 to get a last glimpse of the 39th U.S. president

PLAINS, GEORGIA - JANUARY 09: Honor guard members walk alongside the hearse carrying former U.S. President Jimmy Carter as it travels through the downtown area to the final burial site on January 9, 2025 in Plains, Georgia. Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. — Honor guard walking along the hearse carrying President Jimmy Carter on Jan. 9 in Plains, Ga. Photo: Jessica McGowan/Getty

Jimmy Carter’s fans and admirers are bidding him a final farewell.

For the penultimate portion of the beloved former president’s funeral services on Thursday, Jan. 9, Carter — who died in December at 100 — arrived in his hometown of Plains, Ga., where the public said their final goodbyes.

Following a private funeral service at Maranatha Baptist Church, the Carter family set off for the former president’s residence via motorcade. In the final moments before he was interred, admirers lined the streets of Plains to pay their respects.

PLAINS, GEORGIA - JANUARY 09: A joint services bearer team carries the casket after the funeral service for former President Jimmy Carter at Maranatha Baptist Church on January 9, 2025 in Plains, Georgia. President Joe Biden declared today a national day of mourning for Carter, the 39th president of the United States, who died at the age of 100 on December 29 at his home in Plains. Carter's remains were to be interred here after the private family service. — A joint services bearer team carrying President Jimmy Carter’s casket after his funeral service at Maranatha Baptist Church on Jan. 9 in Plains, Ga.by Megan Varner/Getty

Carter’s funeral proceedings began on Jan. 4, and will conclude at the Carter residence, where he will be buried in a private ceremony. He will be laid to rest next to his late wife, Rosalynn Carter, who died at age 96 in November 2023.

On the first day of funeral services, the former president’s motorcade paused for a short moment in front of the Plains farm that served as Carter’s boyhood home, where the National Park Service saluted the late president, ringing a historic farm bell 39 times in honor of his role as the 39th president of the United States.

Jason Carter, grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, speaks as the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter lies in repose at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum on January 4, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia. Six days of funeral observances will take place for former President Jimmy Carter after he died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100. President Carter was the longest-living U.S. President in history. — Jimmy Carter lies in repose at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta on Jan. 4.Alex Brandon – Pool/Getty

Afterward, Carter and the motorcade then traveled to the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, where he lay in repose for several days, until the morning of Jan. 7, when he was taken to Washington, D.C.

There, members of Congress paid their respects to the beloved politician during a service in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, and visitors were welcomed to pay their respects shortly after.

The remains of former US President Jimmy Carter arrive at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, for a State Funeral Service on January 9, 2025. — A procession into the Washington National Cathedral for Jimmy Carter’s state funeral service on Jan. 9, 2025.HAIYUN JIANG/POOL/AFP via Getty

On Thursday, Carter was honored with a state funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral in D.C., which brought all five living U.S. presidents together. His remains were then returned to Georgia.

jimmy and rosalynn carter — Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter. Yvonne Hemsey/Liason Agency/Getty

Carter, who served as president for one term from 1977 to 1981, died at his home in Plains on Dec. 29 after spending almost two years in hospice care.

The former president is survived by his four children with Rosalynn: Chip, Jack, Jeff and Amy.

In March 2019, Carter became the longest-lived American president, as well as the president with the lengthiest post-White House life. His and wife Rosalynn’s 77-year marriage was also the longest of any first couple.

Flags at all federal buildings are scheduled to fly at half-mast for 30 days after Carter’s death, including during President-elect Donald Trump‘s Jan. 20 inauguration.