National day of mourning held for President Carter

ATLANTA – Flags flew at half-staff across the nation Monday, a day after former President Jimmy Carter died at age 100 at his home in Plains.

Gov. Brian Kemp issued two executive orders following the passing of the longest living ex-president, one ordering all U.S. and Georgia flags to fly at half-staff at all state buildings and grounds for 30 days and the other declaring a state of emergency in Carter’s home county of Sumter through Jan. 12 to bring all state resources to bear for the influx of visitors expected to attend funeral services.

President Joe Biden ordered an official state funeral for fellow Democrat Carter to be held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 9, a national day of mourning, while Congress extended an invitation to the Carter family to have the former president to lie in state inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

“Over six decades, we had the honor of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend,” Biden and First Lady Jill Biden said in a statement late Sunday. “But what’s extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people throughout America and the world who never met him thought of him as a dear friend as well.

“With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us. He saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe.”

Carter was born in Plains, Ga., in 1924 to James and Bessie Carter, owners of a local peanut farm and warehouse. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland and went on to serve seven years as a naval officer, rising to the rank of lieutenant.

After his father’s death, Carter resigned from the Navy and came home to manage the family business. From there, he ran for the state Senate, serving two terms before being elected Georgia’s 76th governor in 1970.

He won the presidency in 1976, running as a Washington outsider in a post-Watergate era that found voters tired of the scandal and corruption that had led to the resignation of then-President Richard Nixon in 1974.

President-elect Donald Trump said Carter is owed a “debt of gratitude.”

“Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History,” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social. “The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”

After a single term marked by inflation at home and the Iranian hostage crisis overseas, voters turned to Ronald Reagan in 1980, sending Carter back to Georgia.

But the nation’s only president from the Peach State thus far was nowhere near done with his career. He founded the nonprofit Carter Center in Atlanta in 1982, which continues to promote international human rights and global health initiatives.

Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts as a humanitarian and philanthropist.

Carter entered home-hospice care last February, several months after traveling to Atlanta to attend former First Lady Rosalynn Carter’s funeral.

Georgia Republicans and Democrats alike praised Carter Sunday for his contributions to the nation both during and after his presidency.

“President Carter was an exemplary statesman who was respected by many and served our nation with skill and experience,” GOP Lt. Gov. Burt Jones said. “President Carter’s legacy will live on in the numerous nonprofits, charities, and organizations Rosalynn, his family and he started.”

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., called Carter one of his heroes.

“His leadership was driven by love, his life’s project grounded in compassion and a commitment to human dignity,” Warnock said. “For those of us who have the privilege of representing our communities in elected office, Jimmy Carter is a shining example of what it means to make your faith come alive through the noble work of public service.”

Fellow U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., also offered Carter praise and their condolences.

“President Carter’s lifetime of work and dedication to public service changed the lives of many across our state, our country, and around the world,” Ossoff said. “Among his lifetime of service and countless accomplishments, President Carter will be remembered for his commitment to democracy and human rights, his enduring faith, his philanthropic leadership, and his deep love of family.”

U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, who also chairs the Georgia Democratic Party, named her son, Carter, after the former president.

“Throughout his extraordinary life, President Jimmy Carter was a force for peace, human rights, and a voice for marginalized communities,” Williams said. “The once peanut farmer from Plains, Ga., became a Nobel Peace Prize winner, reminding us that everyday people have the power to change the world.”

When Carter was Georgia’s governor, he was influential in the Chattooga River that flows through Rabun County earning the designation as a “Wild and Scenic River.” Five decades ago, the river became nationally recognized as the first river east of the Mississippi River to be granted this protection.

Doug Woodward, a lifelong paddler who served as a stuntman in the 1972 movie “Deliverance,” was part of the crew who took Carter on a canoe trip of the Chattooga as Carter helped lead to the river’s Wild and Scenic designation.

“We took Carter down the Chattooga. First by canoe, and he had a lot of friends with him,” said Woodward at a 50th anniversary of the river’s honor at the Warwoman Dell picnic area in May 2024. Woodward noted the lack of additional security for Carter in the early 1970s for governor’s river trip.

“One thing that was interesting was you never saw a Georgia State trooper or any other protection,” Woodward said. “Those were the ‘Wild West Days.’”

Woodward said Carter would attend the premiere of the movie “Deliverance” in the summer of 1972 for the movie that starred Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight and Ned Beatty.

Georgia Farm Bureau President Tom McCall said Carter’s contributions to agriculture have helped shape the way others think about agriculture.

“The former president is easily recognized as the most famous peanut farmer and his work in and out of the fields in South Georgia have given others a different level of respect for farming and agriculture,” McCall said.

“Mr. Carter’s national campaign for the 1976 presidential election helped others better understand the plight of rural Americans. For those connected to agriculture, Georgia’s number one economic driver, we can all appreciate that,” McCall said.

“Georgia Farm Bureau expresses our deepest gratitude to Mr. Carter for dedicating himself to a rural lifestyle and tirelessly working on behalf of other people while serving as a state lawmaker, Georgia governor, U.S. president and in his retirement. We say, thank you,” McCall said.

The Clayton Tribune staff contributed to this article.