'Music was so important': Rosalynn Carter honored at song-filled celebration of life in Atlanta

"As you can see from the service, music was so important to my grandmother," Jason Carter said during Tuesday's celebration of life honoring former first lady Rosalynn Smith Carter, who died Nov. 19, 2023, at age 96.

Hymns and poetry dotted the 90-minute tribute at Emory University's Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church in Atlanta, where 99-year-old former U.S. President Jimmy Carter sat on the front row with his and Rosalynn's four children and all five living U.S. first ladies — Dr. Jill Biden, Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Jason Carter thanked the women for bringing their "lovely husbands along," gesturing to President Joe Biden and former president Bill Clinton with a smile.

Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman, Douglas Emhoff, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and first lady Marty Kemp also attended, along with U.S. Sens Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, former U.N. Ambassador and Mayor Andrew Young, Martin Luther King III, Arthur Blank, representatives of the Carter Center and other notable names in entertainment, media and nonprofit organizations.