On Politics

Tue Nov 28 2023

Marina Pitofsky | Associate Editor/Politics

Hi OnPolitics readers! Presidents, first ladies and celebrities alike attended a tribute service for Rosalynn Carter in Atlanta today, but it was the former first lady's faith and dedication to service that took center stage at the memorial.

✝️ Rev. Mark Westmoreland, pastor of Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on Emory University's campus in Atlanta, said the event celebrated "96 years of faith and love."

🧍‍♀️ Kathryn Cade, Rosalynn Carter's longtime aide and friend, said the service, "What a remarkable woman she was : a wife, mother, business manager, political strategist, diplomat, advocate and author." Cade also said her "compassion and empathy for those who are suffering was boundless, her passion for action even more so."

⛰️ Jason Carter said in some ways his grandmother was like a lot of grandmothers, baking with mayonnaise and once making pimento cheese sandwiches for strangers on a flight. He also called her work fighting the stigmas surrounding mental health a "50-year climb."

"It is remarkable how far she could see and how far she was willing to walk. And that effort changed lives, and it saved lives including in my own family. She was made for these long journeys," he said.

Political leaders and their spouses joined the 99-year-old former President Jimmy Carter at the service, including President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden; Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff; and former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Fellow former first ladies Melania Trump, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush were also in attendance.