Jimmy Carter funeral live: Garth Brooks performs 39th president’s favorite song

The funeral services at Washington National Cathedral have concluded.

The late president’s casket is being carried out of the cathedral and into the hearse on the way to Joint Base Andrews.

Then, there will be a private ceremony and burial in Plains, Georgia, his hometown.

Here’s a look at who performed at the funeral service for the late 39th president on Thursday:

• The Armed Forces Chorus, the U.S. Marine Chamber Orchestra, and the Cathedral Choir perform “Eternal Father, Strong to Save.”
• Phyllis Adams and Leila Bolden perform “Song Rise to Thee.”
• The U.S. Marine Orchestra performs “Amazing Grace”
• Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood perform “Imagine.”

All five living presidents and their partners attended former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, except for one person: former First Lady Michelle Obama.

Carter’s life was celebrated at the National Cathedral on Thursday morning. However, the former first lady was notably absent despite all other former and current first ladies attending.

It’s not entirely clear why the former first lady was absent. However, CNN’s Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny reports it was due to an extended vacation in Hawaii.

Katie Hawkinson has the full story.

President Biden delivered a heartfelt eulogy to his friend Jimmy Carter on Thursday morning.

After honoring Carter’s character, the president said: “To young people, to anyone in search of meaning and purpose: study the power of Jimmy Carter’s example. I miss him, but I take solace in knowing that his beloved Rosalynn are reunited again.”

Biden continued: “To the entire Carter family, thank you, and I mean this sincerely, for sharing them both with America and the world. We love you all. Jill and I will cherish our visits with them, including that last one in their home. We saw Jimmy as he always was, at peace with a life fully lived, a good life, a purpose and meaning of character, driven by destiny and filled with the power of faith, hope and love.”

President Joe Biden read a eulogy for the late president, who he describes as his friend.

Carter “came from a house without running water or electricity and rose to a pinnacle, a power,” Biden said.

Biden said Carter never let politics keep him from his principles: “Jimmy had character.”

The president said: “Because of that, character I believe is destiny. Destiny in our lives, and quite frankly, destiny in the life of the nation. It’s an accumulation of a million things built on character, that leads to a good life and a decent country. Life of purpose, life of meaning. Now, how do we find that good life? What does it look like What does it take to build character? Do the ends justify the means?”

“Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me, and through his life, taught me, strength of character is more than title or the power we hold,” Biden continued.

Carter saw well into the future, he said.

“A decorated Navy veteran who brokered peace. A brilliant nuclear engineer who led a nuclear nonproliferation. A hard-working farmer who championed conservation and clean energy,” Biden said.

Carter also demonstrated a model post-presidency, making profound differences in the U.S. and around the world, the president said.

“God bless you Jimmy Carter,” Biden concluded.

Jason Carter, the grandson of the late president, said his grandparents spent a lot of time demonstrating to others that they were “regular folks.”

Their house was a good reminder: walls papered with photos of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, filled with fishing trophies, and an old phone with a cord.

He joked one time the former president called Jason and didn’t realize it: “I didn’t call you, I’m trying to take a picture.” The audience erupted in laughter.

But he was far from ordinary, his grandson said.

“He had the courage and strength to stick to his principles even when they were politically unpopular,” Jason said.

He said Carter acted the same both in public and private.

“I never perceived a difference in his public face and his private one. He was the same person no matter who he was with or where he was,” Jason said, calling it the definition of integrity.

“In the end, his life is a love story,” he said. It’s a love story between Jimmy and Rosalyn; in the last few weeks, the former president told his family that he was ready to see her again, Jason said.

His principles and his work as president and beyond were also based in love and respect, Jason said.

Stuart Eizenstat, former chief domestic policy adviser to President Jimmy Carter, called “as close to being a renaissance man as any president entering the Oval Office in modern times.”

Carter was a poet, author, creator of the Carter Center, fly fisherman, Naval officer, president, husband and father, Eizenstat said.

“As we lay our 39th presence to rest, it’s time we redeem his presidency and also lay to rest the myth that his greatest achievement only came as a former president,” he said.

Carter “parked politics at the Oval Office door,” took on controversial challenges, and did what he thought was right.

As president, he appointed more people of color and women to senior executive positions than any of the 38 presidents before him. He created the Education Department and FEMA. He provided the first incentives for conservation and “inaugurated the era of clean energy,” and even installed solar panels on the roof of the White House, Eizenstat said.

“He may not be a candidate for Mt. Rushmore but he belongs int he foothills by making the U.S. and the world safer,” Eizenstat concluded.