ATLANTA – Nearly a week of funeral services honoring former President Jimmy Carter are set to begin in Georgia on Saturday.

The Carter family has invited the public to participate in several public viewings and funeral processions planned in both Georgia and Washington, D.C. over the next six days.

On Saturday, the body of the former president will travel through his hometown of Plains, Georgia, to Atlanta to lie in repose at The Carter Center, the organization that he and his wife, Rosalynn, founded in 1982.

Here’s what you need to know about everything going on to celebrate Mr. Carter’s life over the weekend.

How to watch the Carter funeral events

FOX 5 will begin its coverage of the Carter funeral during Good Day Atlanta on Saturday morning. Coverage will continue beginning at 9 a.m. on FOX LOCAL until after the former president lies in repose.

Click here to download FOX LOCAL for your iPhone or click here to download it for Android users on the Google Play Store.

FOX LOCAL is available to download for free on Roku, Amazon FireTV, Apple TV, Google Android TV and Vizio. For more information on how to connect your specific smart TV, visit www.FOXlocal.com.

You can also watch live coverage streaming on FOX5Atlanta.com and FOX 5’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

Carter funeral Saturday schedule of events

10:15 a.m.

• The Carter family arrives at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia.
• Current and former U.S. Secret Service agents will carry Carter’s remains to the hearse.
• Current and former Secret Service agents will service as pallbearers. That delegation will include Steve Miller, William Bush, Richard Kerr, Alex Parker, Jack “Chip” Coffey, Nick Steen, Don Witham, Alejandro Mantica, and Daniel Reich.
• The motorcade departs.

10:50 a.m.

• The motorcade travels through Plains, Georgia.
• The motorcade makes a stop at the Carter family farm.
• The National Park Service salutes Carter, rings the historic farm bell 39 times.
• The honor of ringing that bell will be given to Randy Dillard and Karen Barry, who are the longest-serving members of the NPS in Plains.

10:55 a.m.

• The motorcade travels to Atlanta, winding through the towns of Preston (Webster County), Ellaville (Schley County), Butler (Taylor County), Reynolds (Taylor County), and Fort Valley (Peach County).

3 p.m.

• Motorcade arrives at Georgia’s State Capitol with Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Georgia legislators, Georgia State Patrol Troopers for a moment of silence.
• President Carter’s gubernatorial Georgia State Patrol detail will also be present.

3:45 p.m.

• Carter’s remains transported to Carter Presidential Center

4 p.m.

• Service held at Carter Center

7 p.m.

• Carter lies in repose at the Carter Center

Jimmy Carter’s service at the Carter Center

Carter’s remains will then be transported to the Carter Presidential Center for an arrival ceremony at 3:45 p.m. and service at 4 p.m. The service will feature remarks from Carter’s son Chip Carter, grandson Jason Carter, and others. Musical selections include “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” and “Battle Hymn of the Republic” performed by the Morehouse College Glee Club.

Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum Director Meredith Evans, Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander, and Carter Center staff member and lifelong friend of the Carters, Bernstine Hollis, will join other dignitaries for the service.

Carter will be received with full military honor guard and pallbearers representing all six military branches, with “America the Beautiful” and “Be Thou My Vision” being performed by the 282nd Army Band out of Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

Jimmy Carter to lie in repose

Following the service, Carter will lie in repose for mourners to pay their respects beginning at 7 p.m. 

He will continue to lie in repose at the center until 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7, when the late president and his family will travel to Dobbins Air Reserve base to be taken to Washington, D.C. 

The Carter family invites the public to honor the former president along the motorcade route and during the public repose. Those attending the repose are advised to allow extra time for security procedures. Photography and recording are prohibited.

The public can also share condolences and view a tribute to Carter’s legacy at jimmycartertribute.org.

Road closures and public transportation around Carter viewing

While the events are taking place, East John Lewis Freedom Parkway and North Highland Avenue will be closed around the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. Those closures should end on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at noon. 

To help visitors pay their respects, MARTA is offering free, direct bus shuttles from the King Memorial rail station to The Carter Center. These shuttles will operate continuously, departing every three to five minutes around the clock during the designated period.

Visitors can also walk or bike to the center from the surrounding neighborhoods.

Jimmy Carter Day of mourning

The late former president’s state funeral will take place on Thursday, Jan. 9 in Washington, D.C. Prior to the ceremony, President Carter will lie in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. President Joe Biden signed an executive order closing all federal government agencies as a day of mourning for Mr. Carter. 

Former U.S. presidents are expected to be present for the service, including President-elect Donald Trump, who stated earlier this week he would be attending the funeral.

When will Jimmy Carter be buried?

Following the state funeral in Washington, President Carter’s remains will then be transported from the nation’s capitol, back to Georgia, where a private ceremony will take place at Maranatha Baptist Church, the church in Plains where Carter taught Sunday school for years.

After the private service, the former president will be taken via a short motorcade to the Carter Home and Garden, part of Jimmy Carter National Historic Park. The public is invited to line the motorcade route.

 Carter will be buried near a willow tree on the property, the same location where Rosalynn was buried after she died in 2023.

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The life and legacy of Jimmy Carter

Born in Plains, Georgia, in 1924, Carter became involved in community affairs in 1953 after his father died, and he took over the family farming supply business. That knack for politics won him a seat in the Georgia Senate in 1962. After losing his campaign to be governor in 1966, Carter won the position in 1970 and then announced his decision to run for president four years later.

The “man from Georgia” served one term in the White House, but left with some monumental achievements, including brokering the Camp David accord between Egypt and Israel.

After his loss to Ronald Reagan, Carter continued to champion human rights throughout the world, founding The Carter Center with his wife, Rosalynn, to promote global health and democracy.

Carter dead at 100 after hospice stay

In February 2023, The Carter Center announced that the former president had entered hospice care in the one-story home he and Rosalynn built in the 1960s – before his first election to the Georgia Senate.

The president spent roughly 22 months in hospice care, living to reach his 100th birthday. He was the oldest living president in history.

On Dec. 29, 2024, The Carter Center said that Carter died peacefully at his home, surrounded by his family.

What people are saying

“He was a man of great character and courage, hope and optimism. We will always cherish seeing him and Rosalynn together. The love shared between Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter is the definition of partnership and their humble leadership is the definition of patriotism.” – President Joe Biden

“I had the privilege of knowing President Carter for years. I will always remember his kindness, wisdom, and profound grace. His life and legacy continue to inspire me — and will inspire generations to come. Our world is a better place because of President Carter.” – Vice President Kamala Harris

“The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country, and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.” – President-elect Donald Trump

“As the only American president thus far to come from Georgia, he showed the world the impact our state and its people have on the country. And as a son of Plains, he always valued Georgians and the virtues of our state.” – Gov. Brian Kemp

“From building affordable homes through Habitat for Humanity to protecting democracy across the globe by ensuring fair and free elections, President Carter has changed the world forever.” – Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.

LSU coach Brian Kelly probably didn’t expect to spend his Thursday night getting destroyed on social media, but that’s what happened!

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish punched a ticket to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff after beating Georgia 23-10.

The game certainly felt like it was a lot further apart than the final victory of 13 points. The Fighting Irish balled out, and Marcus Freeman now has his team eight quarters of football away from winning a national title.

Brian Kelly roasted after Notre Dame beats Georgia.

The person fans wanted to take shots at after the game?

The former Fighting Irish coach now leading the Tigers.

Brian Kelly got crushed on social media after Notre Dame beat Georgia. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images)

Brian Kelly left Notre Dame after the 2021 season, and there was a big sense he was doing it because he felt the SEC gave him the best shot to win a national title.

How’s that working out for him? Kelly has arguably become less relevant in the SEC while Freeman has the Fighting Irish rolling.

Fans were quick to point that out on X after the game. Check out some of the tweets below, and let me know what you think at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.

Do we think there might be some bad blood between Notre Dame fans and Brian Kelly? I think the answer to that is pretty obvious, and it’s an overwhelming yes.

Brian Kelly cut and ran, and essentially did so because he didn’t think Notre Dame was good enough for his career.

Now, he’s not moving the needle at all in the SEC, Marcus Freeman has ND rolling and Fighting Irish fans are quick to dance all over Brian Kelly.

He was probably just hoping to have a calm Thursday night after earning a bowl win. Instead, he ended up getting lit up on X. Welcome to college football.

Brian Kelly was roasted after Notre Dame beat Georgia in the CFP. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Next up for Notre Dame is Penn State. Hit me with your predictions at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.

NEW ORLEANS — Marcus Freeman grabbed hold of his six kids, each making their way to a podium covered by blue and white confetti. Notre Dame’s head coach had already lifted the Sugar Bowl trophy, capping a Thursday night that took everything and everyone. So Freeman stole a moment to soak in the scene Notre Dame hired him to deliver, sharing it with his family.

They’d all just watched Notre Dame beat Georgia 23-10 to advance to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.

Inside the Caesars Superdome, Freeman became something bigger than the first-time head coach thrust into the top job three years ago after Brian Kelly’s abrupt exit for LSU, only because he had Notre Dame at his back. His program played fearless football against the kind of opponent that had made it feel inferior for so long. The Irish went for it on fourth down, and when they didn’t get it, they forced a four-and-out. When they wanted to burn clock in the fourth quarter, they made Georgia panic with a mass substitution that got the Bulldogs to jump offside.

The Irish sprung their first kickoff return touchdown of the season, buoyed by a Marshall transfer. Notre Dame created two massive turnovers, one of which was a strip sack by a Duke transfer that set up a touchdown pass to a Clemson transfer. A South Carolina transfer hit three field goals. And when the Irish needed a fourth-down stop near the goal line, a transfer from Northwestern broke the pass up.

This Notre Dame team did what no Notre Dame team has done in 31 seasons and won a major bowl game. And it did it only because its head coach manifested this scene into reality, pulling every available lever and finding every possible edge. The Irish needed them all.

“That’s the aggressiveness in terms of our preparation that I want our program to have, and again, out there when it matters the most,” Freeman said. “That’s got to be one of our edges, that we are going to be an aggressive group and not fear making mistakes.”

The end result sends Notre Dame to the Orange Bowl to face Penn State on Jan. 9, one week after this signature win that included so many autographs. It would be impossible to read off them all, starting with the head coach and going all the way down to the walk-on receiver Leo Scheidler, who helped spring Jayden Harrison’s 98-yard kickoff return to open the third quarter.

JAYDEN HARRISON

9️⃣8️⃣ YARDS#GoIrish | @j_harrison5

pic.twitter.com/58i6kwbw3H

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— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) January 2, 2025

Notre Dame needed every leading actor and bit part to follow the script. And the entire football program remembered its lines.

“They’re incredible kids. They are the best of the best,” said defensive coordinator Al Golden. “I think they choose Notre Dame for all the right reasons. It’s not me, me, me. Any of those guys to come here and submit to the program and put your ego aside and go for team glory? That’s rare. Rare. Rare. Rare.”

Golden’s defense delivered without star defensive tackle Rylie Mills and cornerback Benjamin Morrison, both lost for the season to injury. And so reserve defensive tackles Gabriel Rubio and Donovan Hinish stood tall, especially after Howard Cross III left with an ankle injury. Cornerbacks Christian Gray and Leonard Moore continue to fill in for Morrison. And when All-American safety Xavier Watts missed time, Rod Heard II stepped forward.

“All of us who decided to join the team for our last year committed ourselves to this vision of being national champions,” Heard said. “We’ve leaned into Notre Dame. Whatever I have to do for this team, that’s what I’m gonna get done.”

Inside the Notre Dame locker room, RJ Oben cradled the game ball given to him by Freeman. For one night he wasn’t the other transfer from Duke, Oben was the guy who made his first sack in an Irish uniform, dropping Gunner Stockton in the final seconds of the first half and forcing a fumble recovered by Junior Tuihalamaka. One snap later, Riley Leonard hit Beaux Collins for a 13-yard touchdown, Notre Dame’s only offensive touchdown in the game.

“If you’re gonna make a game-changing play, now is the time,” Oben said. “We came here knowing this is a big stage and this is why we’re here, to perform in a season like this. All the guys.”

But how Notre Dame put down Georgia said less about personnel than the culture connecting it. The Irish got production from virtually every transfer against the Bulldogs, none of those players wanted by the SEC champions. And Notre Dame got much from its core too, an offensive line that’s grown throughout the season into a group that could spring a 12-play, 41-yard drive in the fourth quarter that bled 7:36 of clock and left the Bulldogs without recourse.

A punt has never looked so good.

“It’s Notre Dame football at its finest. They delivered their very best when their very best was needed,” said offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. “We probably set offensive football back 15 years. But we did what we needed to do to win.”

Notre Dame will meet Penn State in the CFP semifinals. (Sean Gardner / Getty Images)

Notre Dame did it because Freeman called the biggest game of his life, the day after a tragedy on Bourbon Street pushed the Sugar Bowl back a day.

At breakfast, Golden counseled defensive backs coach Mike Mickens that Notre Dame needed to stay aggressive in coverage, even if the Irish got beat with a deep ball. And they did get beat with Stockton’s arm. And they did stay aggressive.

Freeman knew he needed something big from special teams, no matter how much Jeter had struggled through injury this season and no matter what it took from special teams coordinator Marty Biagi. Freeman got that too. After the game, Biagi wore his father Stephen’s Notre Dame jacket, honoring him after he succumbed to lung cancer four hours after the Indiana game late last month. Just a day before Notre Dame beat the Hoosiers, Biagi’s wife gave birth to the couple’s twins. A girl and a boy. Their names are Brooke Renee and Stephen Jacob.

“He wouldn’t have wanted, as a Notre Dame grad, to go any other way,” Biagi said. “I know he was up there tonight watching. Trying to make him proud.”

Stephen Biagi would have been as Jeter drilled field goals from 44, 48 and finally 47 yards early in the fourth quarter to put Notre Dame ahead by the final score. And Harrison’s kickoff return did feel like divine intervention as he cut through Georgia’s coverage units, sprung by a walk-on receiver’s block after Scheidler subbed in for starter Collins, who needed an IV at halftime.

Even not punting worked, as Notre Dame tried that mass substitution on fourth-and-1 from its own 18-yard line early in the fourth, rushing the punt unit off and the offense on, trying to get Georgia to jump offside. Notre Dame had no intention of actually snapping the ball, until Jalon Walker jumped.

The play was called “Got ’Em.”

“And we did,” Denbrock said.

In the Superdome tunnels, Denbrock tried to make sense of this all, less the game he just called and more what it meant for the program he’d called it for. This is Denbrock’s third stint at Notre Dame under his third head coach. He’s been in these games. Never won them. No one around Notre Dame has, amid a major bowl losing streak that dates back to Lou Holtz and covers the tenure of four other head coaches. Most of these games haven’t been close. They’ve been supposed referendums on what Notre Dame football can be in the modern age.

And now Notre Dame is something else entirely.

“We’ve all endured all of these ‘we don’t belong’ and ‘you’re not supposed to be here’ and all that stuff that we’ve had to deal with all those years,” Denbrock said. “To see those kids erase that, at least for the time being, and do the things, that was all about heart and toughness.

“Regardless of the stage we’ve been on, we’ve been true to who we are. I’m just so happy for everybody.”

Because that’s exactly what this required.

Everybody.

GO DEEPER

CFP semifinals first look: Previewing Notre Dame-Penn State, Ohio State-Texas

(Top photo: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)