Attendees for Carter’s Emory service include ex-president, first ladies
Former President Bill Clinton and several former first ladies are expected to join President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, at Tuesday’s memorial service for Rosalynn Carter in Atlanta.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton’s wife, also is among those expected to pay tribute in person to the former first lady at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on Emory University’s campus.
Former first lady Melania Trump, former first lady Michelle Obama, former first lady Laura Bush, and Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff also are expected to attend the ceremony for Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96.
Other expected attendees include Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and first lady Marty Kemp, and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, according to the Carter Center, the nonprofit founded by Rosalynn and former President Jimmy Carter.
Tuesday’s ceremony is being held ahead of a more private service and burial for Rosalynn Carter in the former first couple’s hometown of Plains on Wednesday.
At Tuesday’s event in Atlanta, members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will provide gathering music, including some of Rosalynn Carter’s most beloved tunes and an arrangement by legendary ASO conductor Robert Shaw and Alice Parker.
Pianist David Osborne, long a favorite of Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter, will play a medley of hymns as a prelude to the service. The service will include musical performances by the ASO Chamber Chorus and family friends Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.
The Rev. Mark Westmoreland, pastor of Glenn Memorial, will give the call to worship and invocation, followed by opening remarks by Pastor Tony Lowden, the Carters’ personal pastor.
Carter’s son James Earl “Chip” Carter III will welcome attendees and daughter Amy Carter will present a reading. One grandson and three of Carter’s great-grandchildren will read Scripture passages, and tributes will be delivered by longtime aide and friend Kathryn Cade, journalist Judy Woodruff and grandson Jason Carter.
The service will close with Lowden’s benediction and a song by the ASO Chamber Chorus. Osborne will play a recessional song, followed by a postlude by organist Norman Mackenzie and the ASO Brass Quartet.
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