In the United States, Presidents are often involved in planning their funerals and usually get years to plan for it after leaving the office. Matthew Costello, senior historian for the White House Historical Association and co-author of a book titled “Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture," says, "They are very much involved in the planning process, and the decisions that they make tell us a lot about who they are, how they see the presidency, and how they want to be remembered by the American people."
Jimmy Carter, who breathed his last at 100 on Sunday, had almost 43 years to plan his funeral. His memorial journey will end at his house in the tiny town of Plains, Georgia, where he grew up on a peanut farm. His wife, Rosalynn, was also laid to rest last year in the same burial plot that they chose years ago. Before reaching the final destination, Carter's funeral will include grief, ceremony, and logistics, akin to how funerals have been in the US.
Other details of his funeral are still not revealed and they remain under the discretion of the family and military units that are responsible for carrying out the plans.
Most presidents lie in state in the US Capitol, and there is usually a service at Washington National Cathedral.
When Biden revealed Carter's wish
Notably, US President Joe Biden let slip last year that Carter had asked him to give a eulogy. “Excuse me, I shouldn't say that,” Biden had admitted that time. On Sunday, Biden said that his team working with Carter's family and others “to see to it that he is remembered appropriately, here in the United States and around the world.
Funerals of different US Presidents
- President Dwight Eisenhower, who commanded Allied troops during World War II before becoming a politician, wanted to be buried in an USD 80 government-issued casket. Apart from a glass seal that was added to the design, it was indistinguishable from the casket of any other solider.
- Ronald Reagan's casket was carried up the west steps of the US Capitol, which face his home state of California. When Gerald Ford died, his casket was brought through the House side of the building, a nod to his years as a lawmaker.
- After John F. Kennedy was assassinated, his son John Jr. was photographed saluting the casket. Kennedy's casket was transported down Pennsylvania Avenue on the same caisson that carried Abraham Lincoln after he was assassinated a century earlier, and a riderless horse was included in the procession. Kennedy's was the first presidential funeral to be widely televised.
- During George H. W. Bush's funeral in 2018, the audience included President Donald Trump. He shook hands with former President Barack Obama, his predecessor, but did not interact with Hillary Clinton, who he defeated in the 2016 election, or her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
(With agency inputs)
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