Former first lady Rosalynn Carter laid to rest

(29 Nov 2023)

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4466171

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
POOL
Plains, Georgia - 29 November 2023
1. Georgia State Patrol honor guard saluting near casket
HEADLINE: Rosalynn Carter laid to rest in Georgia
2. Funeral attendees singing as former President Jimmy Carter is moved to the front
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Pastor Tony Lowden, Maranatha Baptist Church:
"To the caregivers, if you talk to any of the caregivers and pull them to the side and ask them to tell you about Miss Carter they'll say she's an angel. They'll whisper to you 'She is awesome.' "
4. Carter's casket being carried from the church
ANNOTATION: Former first lady Rosalynn Carter was celebrated by family and friends at her funeral in Plains, Georgia, where she and President Jimmy Carter were born.

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Plains, Georgia - 29 November 2023
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Betty Moss, Family Friend and Funeral Attendee:
"Wonderful. I don't know of any other words to. She was. She was just a wonderful, sweet sweet lady."

6. Hearse moving down the street
ANNOTATION: Rosalynn Carter died on Nov. 19, at age 96.
7. People walking behind the hearse
ANNOTATION: Carter was a champion of many causes, including mental health care and the eradication of diseases.
STORYLINE:
With her frail husband as a silent witness, Rosalynn Carter was celebrated by her family and closest friends Wednesday at her funeral in the same tiny town where she and Jimmy Carter were born.

The former first lady, who died Nov. 19 at the age of 96, had her intimate funeral at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, where she and her husband spent decades welcoming guests and where a wooden cross Jimmy Carter fashioned in his woodshop is displayed.

Earlier tributes were held in nearby Americus and in Atlanta.

The former president was in attendance in his wheelchair, with her one last time in his life.

Maranatha Pastor Tony Lowden opened the service with a tribute to her.

"To the caregivers, if you talk to any of the caregivers and pull them to the side and ask them to tell you about Miss Carter they'll say she's an angel. They'll whisper to you 'She is awesome,' " Lowden said.

She will be buried in a plot she will one day share with her husband of 77 years. The former president, now 99, left home hospice care to attend Tuesday’s memorial, where two other presidents and all the living first ladies joined the extended Carter family, as well as Wednesday’s more intimate hometown funeral.

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