President Jimmy Carter’s funeral held at Maranatha Baptist Church

Published 1:46 pm Monday, January 13, 2025

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Bouquets of flowers lay in front of Maranatha Baptist Church. Barren pecan limbs stretched beneath a clear blue sky. Distant delays in weather set back the arrival time for the President’s hearse to a little after 5 pm.

Shortly after the arrival, Carter family witnessed 21 F18s fly overhead, performing a missing man formation. The 282 Army Band from Fort Jackson played Hail to the Chief as the President’s casket was removed from the hearse, followed by How Firm a Foundation as his body was borne into the sanctuary. Following the service, a private burial was held at the Carter residence.

Americus Mayor Lee Kinnamon and his wife Karen Kinnamon attended the funeral at Maranatha. “Karen and I were honored to represent the City of Americus at Maranatha Baptist Church, where we joined with others to celebrate the remarkable life and legacy of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in a beautiful and deeply moving service.”

Kinnamon shared his appreciation for the Carter’s legacy. “Despite the demands of their global mission, they never forgot their roots and their people in Sumter County, and many of us are greatly blessed to have known them and to have worked with them over the years. Indeed, the love for this great man and his family expressed during the service at Maranatha was overwhelming.”

Kinnamon recalled the homily given by the Carter’s personal pastor. “Pastor Tony Lowden reminded all of us to seek and to embrace a greater purpose for our lives, a purpose modeled by President and Mrs. Carter throughout their lives, a purpose directed toward the service of others rather than self, a purpose guided by faith and hope, a purpose we would all do well to remember in the days ahead.”

Annette Wise, co-founder of the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail, was also in attendance. She was glad to see so many people who had been affected by Carter gathered to celebrate his life. “People from the Carter Center. People he knew from Plains, family members of course.”

She shared her feelings. “It was sad, but it was glorious too.” Wise described it was a time of reflection on his life and accomplishments. “Not only for our community, but for the world.”

For more stories about Jimmy Carter please go to www.americustimesrecorder.com/category/jimmy-carter/