PLAINS, Ga. — On Wednesday the community in Plain gave a final goodbye to former First Lady Rosalynn Carter at the church where the Carters worshipped for years, Maranatha Baptist.
No goodbye among those, of course, went deeper or carried as much love with it as that of her husband's, former President Jimmy Carter.
At Mrs. Carter's funeral, in one of the most powerful expressions of love and farewell - there were no words, no hymns, no prayers from the former president; just the act of a devoted husband, with her throughout. It would be just about unthinkable for Jimmy to stay apart from Rosalynn, as he showed in making a remarkable journey to Atlanta for the previous day's services.
"He doesn't like to be far from her," Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander explained to 11Alive's Savannah Levins.
The Maranatha Baptist Church Pastor Tony Lowden, who called Rosalynn the personification of the biblical "virtuous woman" referenced in the Book of Proverbs, caring more for others than herself, noted the unbreakable bond she and Jimmy shared.
The pastor imagined what Rosalynn must be saying in heaven now.
"Jimmy tried to beat me here. I got here first," he said to laughter. "And I'm waiting on him."
After the funeral, the motorcade rolled slowly from the church to the Carter home just down the street where Rosalynn was buried on a hillside at a private family service.
At 99 years old, 10 months into hospice care, Jimmy Carter was there nonetheless to the last, always staying by Rosalynn's side.