Rosalynn Carter: ‘Cool Grandma’ and Woman with ‘Boundless Passion For Action’

Jimmy Carter, presidents and every living first lady pay respects.

From right: President Joe Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady Secretary Hillary Clinton, and living First Ladies Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and Melania Trump attend a memorial service for Rosalynn Carter. (The Carter Center)

Rosalynn Carter was honored in a memorial service Tuesday where the crowded pews included a rare front-row gathering of President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, past presidents, all of the living former first ladies and her 99-year-old husband, Jimmy Carter.  

Eulogies from tearful family members and friends paid tribute to the former first lady at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta to hymns and classical music of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus. The ceremony marked the second of three days of public events celebrating Carter, 96, who died at her home on Nov. 19 in Plains, Georgia. Her death was announced two days after she entered hospice care and six months after she was diagnosed with dementi…