Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who died November 19 at the age of 96, was celebrated Tuesday at a memorial service held at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church in Atlanta. Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks were among the noteworthy people who took part in the tribute service. The couple performed a moving rendition of John Lennon’s peace anthem “Imagine,” with Yearwood singing lead and Brooks accompanying his wife on acoustic guitar and backing vocals.
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You can watch a video of the performance on WSB-TV’s YouTube channel.
[RELATED: Garth Brooks Reflects on the Death of Rosalynn Carter: “A Light Has Gone Out”]
Also in attendance at the memorial was Rosalynn’s ailing husband, 99-year-old former President Jimmy Carter, as well as President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, former President Bill Clinton, and all of the surviving former first ladies of the U.S.—Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush.
Brooks and Yearwood were close friends with Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter, all of whom have been longtime supporters of the Habitat for Humanity charity.
Last month, with Jimmy and Rosalynn both ailing, Yearwood and Brooks stepped in to host the 2023 edition of the Carter Work Project, an annual charitable initiative founded by the Carters in 1984 in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity that focuses on building safe, affordable housing for families in need in different areas of the world. For the 2023 campaign, the Charlotte, North Carolina, area was chosen as the location for the housing projects.
A day after Rosalynn’s death, Brooks became emotional while reflecting on his friendship with former First Lady during a November 20 press conference held at his new downtown Nashville honky-tonk, Friends in Low Places Bar & Grill.
“It’s tough. President Carter calls Ms. Yearwood his second favorite Georgia peach,” Brooks told reporters. “All I can think about right now is, when you think about President Carter, you don’t say one without the other.”
Brooks also noted that his wife and Ms. Carter were particularly close.
“They were inseparable,” explained Brooks. “Miss Yearwood called her ‘quiet warrior.’ If you ever got to hang around her, President Carter always steals the show, and then when it comes time for her to speak, she’ll walk to the mic. What she says is very quiet but yet very powerful.”
Rosalynn Carter died peacefully at her Georgia home, shortly after entering hospice care. President Carter, who attended the tribute service in a wheelchair, has been in hospice care himself since February 2023.
(Featured Image by Omar Vega/FilmMagic)
