PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — The church where those closest to Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter bid farewell to the former first lady Wednesday played a central role in the lives of the famous couple from tiny Plains, Georgia.
Maranatha Baptist Church, which hosted the funeral for Rosalynn Carter, held its first services just months into her husband’s presidency, and the two were heavily involved with it over the years.
Jimmy Carter, who is 99 and attended the funeral in a wheelchair, having entered home hospice care early this year, taught Sunday school at the church for decades. His lessons, often on what the Bible says about forgiveness and serving the poor, drew hundreds of people from far and wide, even overseas.
Rosalynn, who died Nov. 19 at 96, would listen in, and the two would pose for photos afterward with anyone who wanted one.
President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn leave the First Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia Dec. 26, 1977 where they attended Sunday School. They then attended Christmas services at the Maranatha Baptist Church a few miles outside the President’s hometown. (AP Photo)
Jimmy Carter, who built the wooden cross that hangs behind the alter, continued teaching even after he announced his cancer diagnosis in 2015. His niece Kim Fuller took over for him when he had brain surgery in late 2019, though he continued to attend her lessons.
Former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday School at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Ga., Sunday, December 14, 1997. Carter says he thinks he has taught about 1,600 Sunday school lessons. (AP Photo/Todd Stone)
Democratic presidential hopeful former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, left, attends church services with former President Jimmy Carter, right, and Rosalyn Carter at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., Sunday, Jan. 18, 2004. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
This Sept. 22, 2009 photo shows former President Jimmy Carter teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Former President Jimmy Carter welcomes visitors to Maranatha Baptist Church before teaching Sunday school in Plains, Ga, Sunday, June 8, 2014. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Former President Jimmy Carter, left, sits with his wife, Rosalynn, as they wait to pose for photos after Carter taught Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Ga., Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Former President Jimmy Carter, left, sits with his wife Rosalynn as they pose for photos with Bill Bush, of Adel, Ga., from right, his grandson Carson Shirley, 9, daughter Lara Norris, and wife Pat Bush after Carter taught Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday School class at the Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown on Aug. 23, 2015, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Former President Jimmy Carter, left, sits with his wife Rosalynn as they pose for photos after Carter taught Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown on Aug. 23, 2015, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Susan Williams, of Tallahassee, Fla., takes a photo before entering Maranatha Baptist Church for Sunday School class by former President Jimmy Carter on Aug. 23, 2015, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Rosalynn Carter, center, wife of former President Jimmy Carter arrives to attend Sunday School class taught by her husband at the Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown on Aug. 23, 2015, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Former President Jimmy Carter talks with neighbor Stephanie Wynn before the start of bible study at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., on Sunday morning, Aug. 16, 2015. (Ben Gray/ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Former President Jimmy Carter walks with his wife Rosalynn after teaching Sunday School class at the Maranatha Baptist Church on Dec. 13, 2015, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/Branden Camp)
In this Nov. 3, 2019, photo, former President Jimmy Carter, second from right, and former first lady Rosalynn Carter sit, as guests Romona Kluth, left, and husband Doug Kluth, from Nebraska, finish their turn of having their photo made with them, after Sunday school at the Maranatha Baptist Church, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Rosalynn Carter arrives as President Jimmy Carter returns to Maranatha Baptist Church to teach Sunday School less than a month after falling and breaking his hip on Sunday, June 9, 2019, in Plains, Ga. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter bow their heads in prayer with members and visitors during the worship service at Maranatha Baptist Church less than a month after the 39th U.S. president and Plains native fell breaking his hip, on June 9, 2019, in Plains, Ga. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Former President Jimmy Carter, right, sits with his wife, Rosalynn, as they wait to pose for photos with guests at Maranatha Baptist Church, in Plains, Ga. on Dec. 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Branden Camp, File)
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