Nov. 28 (UPI) — A tribute will be held Tuesday in Atlanta for Rosalynn Carter during a second day of memorials across Georgia to honor the former first lady’s life and legacy before her burial on Wednesday.
The invitation-only service at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University will be attended by numerous high-profile guests and dignitaries, including past first ladies Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and Melania Trump, the Carter Center announced.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will be there alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff.
Former President Bill Clinton is also planning to attend, as well as a host of Washington lawmakers and Georgia officials.
Also expected are Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and past and present presidents of Emory University.
Former President Jimmy Carter, who is 99 and has been receiving hospice care at home since February, was also expected to attend.
To begin the service, pianist David Osborne will perform hymns to honor Jimmy Carter’s wife of 77 years.
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are scheduled to perform ballads.
The Carters’ 11 surviving grandchildren will serve as honorary pallbearers, while various family members will read a series of tributes and Bible verses to honor the cherished matriarch.
TV journalist Judy Woodruff was also expected to read a passage during the service.
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus will perform Rosalynn Carter’s most beloved songs throughout the gathering, the Carter Center said.
The Rev. Mark Westmoreland, who serves as pastor of Glenn Memorial, will deliver the eulogy, followed by remarks by Pastor Tony Lowden, the personal pastor of the Carters.
The service takes place a day after hundreds paid tribute to the former first lady on Monday evening as her body lay in repose for several hours at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta.
The former first lady made her final journey Monday from Plains, Ga., to Atlanta as state residents lined roads to watch the motorcade pass amid three days of memorials.
Ahead of Tuesday’s ceremony, the Carter family will depart the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta at 11:30 a.m., as the hearse leads a motorcade to the church, where the more than hour-long ceremony will begin at 1 p.m.
Following Tuesday’s tribute, Carter’s body will be transported back to Plains for a private family funeral on Wednesday at Maranatha Baptist Church.
Afterward, the casket will make one last pass in the motorcade along the downtown areas of Bond Street and Highway 280, where residents were preparing to pay their respects by standing along the route.
Later in the afternoon, Carter’s body will be interred at the family residence in Plains.
