After several years dealing with various health issues and declining physical ability, particularly being diagnosed with melanoma that metastasized to his brain and liver, the Carter Center announced on February 18, 2023, that Carter was staying at home to "receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention". Sources noted that hospice care medically means that the patient's life expectancy is no more than six months to live, and patients in hospice care typically die within several weeks. The following week after the announcement, it was reported that Carter's close family members had come to his home in Georgia to spend his final days with him, although local news reported four months later that Carter remained "in great spirits, visiting with family and still enjoying ice cream".
In late August 2023, Carter's grandson Jason Carter provided an update on Carter's health, noting that his grandfather was "in the final chapter" of his life, and in mid-September, Jason further reported that both Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter were "coming to the end", though both were well enough to be taken for a drive through the Plains Peanut Festival on September 23. On November 17, 2023, it was announced that his wife Rosalynn would also be entering hospice care; she died two days later, at the age of 96. Carter's final public appearance was on October 1, 2024, his 100th birthday, when he viewed a military flyover.
Carter had been the earliest-serving living former president for 18 years, since the death of Gerald Ford in 2006. In September 2012, he surpassed Herbert Hoover as the president with the longest retirement. Seven years later, on March 22, 2019, he became the nation's longest-lived president, when he surpassed the lifespan of George H. W. Bush, who was 94 years, 171 days of age when Bush died in November 2018; both men were born in 1924. He noted how difficult it felt to reach his nineties, the former president saying in a 2019 interview with People that he never expected to live as long as he has, claiming his secret to a long life was a good marriage.
On December 29, 2024, Carter died at his home in Plains, Georgia. Carter's son, James E. Carter III, said he died at around 3:45 p.m. EST.
Reactions
President Joe Biden stated that "America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian", and president-electDonald Trump said Carter "did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans." In an address from Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands, Biden said that Carter was a "remarkable leader". Former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton paid tribute to Carter, as did former vice president Al Gore. Senator Bernie Sanders, for whom Carter voted during the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries, stated that "Jimmy Carter, both for what he did as president and in his later years, will be remembered as a decent, honest and down-to-earth man." Across Georgia's political landscape, his death was also mourned by Governor Brian Kemp, former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler, the state's congressional delegation and many others by both Republicans and Democrats in Georgia. Delta Air Lines, operating its largest hub in Atlanta, also reacted to Carter's death, lauding his past life.
Unlike other reactions, Iranian state television's coverage of Carter's death criticized him as the "architect of economic sanctions" against Iran. A moment of silence was held for Carter at the United Nations Security Council on December 30.
Initial activities
National mourning
The United States flag at half-staff over the White House, December 30, 2024
President Biden ordered U.S. flags to be lowered to half-staff for thirty days in accordance with federal law, including at president-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20. Governors then issued executive orders honoring Carter and lowering flags in their states to half-staff. Biden declared a national day of mourning and federal holiday for January 9, the day of Carter's funeral service.
United States armed forces installations and ships at sea fired continuous artillery volleys at 30-minute intervals from sunrise to sunset on December 30, as prescribed by military regulation following the death of a former president.
Prayer services and pastoral statements
At Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, where Carter was a member, a memorial prayer vigil was held on December 30. Rear Admiral Margaret Kibben, the chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives, led the chamber in prayer for Carter on December 31. The First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C.—where Carter taught Sunday School during his presidency—announced plans for a prayer service in Carter's memory.
The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church enacted a resolution recalling Carter as a "devoted Christian who embodied Jesus' teachings". The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement declaring that Carter "embraced the Savior’s admonition" and noting it would pray "that the Carter family may feel comfort and peace". On behalf of Pope Francis, the Secretary of the Apostolic See, Pietro Parolin, announced that "the Holy Father commends him [Carter] to the infinite mercies of almighty God and prays for the consolation of all who mourn his loss".
Memorial service and state funeral
On the morning of January 4, 2025, Carter's remains were taken by motorcade to Atlanta from Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia. The motorcade traveled to the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park in Plains and stopped at the house Carter and wife Rosalynn built and inhabited since 1962. It then proceeded to his boyhood home in nearby Archery, where the National Park Service saluted him, and the farm's bell rang 39 times in recognition of him being the 39th U.S. President. It then made its way to Atlanta, where his service as governor of Georgia was honored at the Georgia State Capitol with a salute by the Georgia State Patrol and a moment of silence led by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, and members of the Georgia General Assembly. Carter's remains were then taken to the Carter Center, where his casket was received with ceremony by military pallbearers. The ceremony included a performance by the Morehouse College Glee Club, and remarks by Carter's son Chip and grandson Jason. It also included the governor, mayor, Carter Center CEO, and the library director jointly laying two wreaths. He lay in repose at the Carter Center from January 4 to 7.
On January 7, Carter's remains were taken from the Carter Center to Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, and were then flown to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Special Air Mission 39. Upon arrival there, Carter's remains were given a 21-gun salute while "Hail to the Chief" played. The remains were then taken by motorcade to the United States Navy Memorial, where the casket was transferred to a horse-drawn caisson for a funeral procession to the United States Capitol along part of the route Carter took during his 1977 inaugural parade. The transfer site honored Carter's place as the only United States Naval Academy graduate to become commander in chief.
After the funeral in Washington, D.C., Carter's remains were driven by motorcade to Joint Base Andrews and were transported back to Georgia on a military flight under the same call sign from Joint Base Andrews back to Lawson Army Airfield at Fort Moore in Columbus, Georgia. Upon arrival back in Georgia, Carter's remains traveled by motorcade to Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains for a private funeral service with his family and close friends. Numerous military members would greet the casket, while a 21 plane flyover was held in before his casket was removed from the hearse. The flyover was held in "missing man" formation, in recognization of his Navy service. The 282 Army Band from Fort Jackson, South Carolina also played "Hail to the Chief" and the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" and "Old Rugged Cross" as the casket entered the church. The church's pastor Ashley Guthas would open the service. The service would be lead by Tony Lowden. Following another performance of "Hail to the Chief", "It Is Well With My Soul" and "Old Rugged Cross" again played as casket was taken out of the church. Carter’s remains were transported in a final procession through Plains to his home for a private burial.
It is customary, and prescribed by military regulation, for all U.S. Army posts equipped with artillery to mark the official conclusion of the state funeral by firing the "Salute to the Union"—50 successive rounds of artillery fire—upon notification that burial has concluded.
Portrait of Jimmy Carter at the National Portrait Gallery dressed in black mourning drape (December 31, 2024)
A motor hearse carrying Carter's remains passes the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park en route to Atlanta, Georgia for the start of the state funeral. (January 4, 2025)
Carter's coffin is disembarked from a U.S. Air Force aircraft in Washington, D.C. (January 7, 2025)
The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own" pictured during the funeral procession (January 7, 2025)
An honor guard drawn from the forces of the Joint Task Force – National Capital Region lines the steps of the U.S. Capitol prior to the arrival of Carter's coffin for the lying in state (January 7, 2025)
The coffin containing Carter's body is removed from the U.S. Capitol for transfer to the National Cathedral (January 9, 2025)
