‘Beyond blood relatives’: Jimmy Carter’s kin release statement

MORE: Celebrating the life, legacy of Jimmy Carter

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - As the nation prepares to bid farewell to its 39th American president, the family of Jimmy Carter released a statement Thursday morning that said, “The outpouring of love and we have received from around the world confirms what we have known all along — Jimmy Carter’s family extends far beyond blood relatives.

“We are sincerely grateful for everyone’s words of comfort and acts of kindness following the ing of such a champion of human rights, justice, and peace,” the family said in the statement released by the Carter Center.

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Carter’s funeral procession begins this Saturday, Jan. 4, in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, and will head to Atlanta, where he will lie in repose at The Carter Center until Monday, Jan. 6.

On Tuesday, the procession will travel to Washington, D.C., where the former president will lie in state at the nation’s capitol. According to the Architect of the Capitol, to lie in state is a way for the nation “to pay final tribute to its most eminent citizens.” The U.S. Capitol, it said, has been considered the “most suitable” place for that, but such an occurrence must be approved by Congress, which did so on Dec. 30, 2024.

Carter’s state funeral — along with a national day of mourning — will be held Thursday, Jan. 9. After the funeral, Carter will be flown back to Plains, where a private ceremony will be held at Maranatha Baptist Church, of which the former president was a member and where he taught Sunday school classes.

Carter will be buried in Plains later that day. Carter died Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, at the age of 100.