Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, along with President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and all five living current and former first ladies—Jill Biden, Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, and Hillary Clinton—gathered at a memorial on Tuesday in Atlanta to honor former first lady Rosalynn Carter. Carter, seated in a wheelchair with a blanket wrapped around his legs, was positioned in the front row during the service.
Melania Trump donned a gray coat, while the other first ladies wore dark blue or black attire. Notably absent were former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, who did not attend the event, described as a “tribute service” held at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the Emory University campus.
Eulogies were delivered by former PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff, Rosalynn Carter and Jimmy Carter’s daughter Amy, and their grandson Jason Carter. Jason Carter commenced the eulogies by welcoming the former first ladies and their “lovely husbands,” eliciting laughter from the attendees.
The last occasion where all living first ladies gathered was in 2018 at the funeral of former President George H.W. Bush at the Washington National Cathedral, attended by all living current and former presidents and first ladies, including the Carters and the Trumps.
Rosalynn Carter, who passed away last week at the age of 96, had been in home hospice care in Plains, Georgia, following a dementia diagnosis. Jimmy Carter, the longest-living president in American history, turned 99 on October 1. In February, he chose to forego further medical treatment for an undisclosed illness and entered hospice care at his home.
The Carters’ most recent public appearance was in September at the Plains Peanut Festival, a week before Jimmy Carter’s 99th birthday. Following the memorial service in Atlanta, Rosalynn Carter’s casket will be transported back to Plains for a private funeral at Maranatha Baptist Church on Wednesday. Subsequently, the casket will be transferred to a hearse for private interment at the Carter family residence, where Jimmy Carter plans to be buried beside her.