Carter laid in repose in Atlanta on first day of funeral

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was laid in repose at the Carter Center Saturday on the first day of his weeklong state funeral.

A motorcade transported the remains of the 39th president, who died Dec. 29 at age 100, from his hometown in Plains, Ga., to the center of his philanthropic enterprise in Atlanta.

A military band played America the Beautiful as service members gingerly transported Carter’s casket into the center, with family and close friends following in for a private service. 

His body will lie in repose there for the public to view until Tuesday.

MORE: Former President Jimmy Carter dies at 100 

Carter’s grandson, Jason Carter, said at the service that despite the family planning for years for the moment, it was still a very challenging time. But, the Nobel prize winner’s legacy will continue.

‘Just know that while we mourn my grandfather’s passing, I know in my heart – and you all do – that his legacy will live on,” Carter said, focusing on Carter Center staff members. “Not only because of the millions of people that he touched across the globe, but very specifically because of your spirit and your knowledge and the work and the track record that you do every day.”

Tony Lowden, personal pastor to the president and his wife Rosalynn, who died just over a year ago, said it was a Saturday unlike those in recent memory.

“Usually, every Saturday I’m making the pilgrimage down to Plains, Ga., and sitting beside President Carter in the compound,” Lowden said.

There, Carter would sit wrapped in a blanket with the words of Psalms 23, he said.

“You can just use your spiritual imagination,” Lowden said. “Our friend, No. 39, President Carter, Pop-Pop, Dad, wrapped in a blanket that says Psalms 23.”

Carter’s son, Chip Carter, said the motorcade felt “a lot of love” from the throngs of supporters who lined the roads from Plains to Atlanta.

Being the son of Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter meant not having them as much, Chip Carter said. But he’d gotten much closer to them in the last few years.

“I was able during that time to become friends with my parents,” he said. “He was held up and propped up and soothed by an amazing woman. And the two of them together changed the world, and it was an amazing thing to watch up close.”

Tuesday, Carter’s remains will be taken to Washington, D.C. where he will lie in state until Thursday before being taken back to Plains for a private service and burial.