Jan. 9 (UPI) — All five living presidents will be present to honor the late former President Jimmy Carter during his funeral service at the National Cathedral in Washington on Thursday morning. Carter, the country’s longest-living president, died on Dec. 29 at 100. It is the last public tribute to Carter before his body is returned to his hometown of Plains, Ga., in a private family ceremony.
He had lied in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and people paid their respects at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta beforehand. Carter’s son, Chip Carter, addressed mourners last Saturday in Atlanta when the tributes began.
President Joe Biden, whose political relationship with Carter dates back to the 1970s, will give one of the eulogies.
“What I find extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people all around the world, all over the world, feel they lost a friend, as well, even though they never met him,” Biden said in previous comments. That’s because Jimmy Carter lived a life measured not by words but by deeds.”
The national service for Carter is expected to last about an hour before he is taken to the Joint Base in Andrews, Md. From there, Carter will be flown to Lawson Army Airfield in Fort Moore, Ga.
He will then be taken to Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains for a private service and the Carter residence for his interment. The U.S. Navy will conduct a missing man formation flyover in honor of Carter’s Naval service.