Jimmy Carter funeral live updates: 'Definition of integrity,' grandson says

"I don't mean this with any disrespect, but, it's still hard for me to understand how you could get to be president from Plains, Georgia,” said former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, prompting a big laugh from the crowd in the cathedral.

Young, 92, was appointed to be U.N. Ambassador by Carter and was the first Black person to hold the position.

Young recalled how Carter grew up in a mostly Black county and had many Black friends. He said Carter asked that his roommate at the Naval Academy be the first Black midshipmen in hopes that he could help him adjust.

Carter "went out of his way to embrace those of us who had grown up in all kinds of conflict," Young said. "But that was the sensitivity, the spirituality that made James Earl Carter a truly great president."

"He never wavered from his commitment to God almighty and his love of all of God’s children," Young said. "Jimmy Carter was a blessing that helped to create a great United Staes of America. And for all of us, and many who are not able to be here, I want to say, thank you. You have been a blessing from God and your spirit will remain with us."

7:38

Andrew Young: Jimmy Carter had ‘tough mind and tender heart’

The former diplomat and activist spoke at the former president’s funeral at the Washington National Cathedral.

ABCNews.com

After wiping his eyes during "Amazing Grace," President Joe Biden stepped up to the pulpit to recall his friendship with former President Jimmy Carter.

"Jimmy Carter's friendship taught me ... strength of character is more than the title or power we hold. It's the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect. That everyone -- and I mean everyone deserves an even shot," Biden said.

"We have an obligation to give hate no safe harbor and to stand up to -- [what] my dad said, the greatest sin of all -- the abuse of power," Biden said, as all of the former presidents looked on. "It's not about being perfect, none of us are perfect. We're all fallible."

"Jimmy Carter, throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works and a good and faithful servant of God, and of the people," Biden said.

Some may think Carter is from a "bygone era," but Carter "saw well into the future," Biden said.

To anyone in search of meaning and purpose, Biden said, "study the power of Jimmy Carter's example."

"I miss him, but I take solace in knowing that he and his beloved Rosalynn are reunited again," he said.

10:40

Biden’s eulogy for Jimmy Carter: He taught me ‘strength of character’

President Joe Biden delivered a eulogy for Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100.

ABCNews.com

Former President Jimmy Carter’s house was filled with items like so many other southern grandparents': fishing trophies, a phone with a landline and a fridge covered with photos of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, his grandson Jason Carter said.

11:32

Jason Carter: My grandfather ‘sang of the goodness of God’

Jason Carter, grandson of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, spoke at his grandfather’s funeral at the Washington National Cathedral.

ABCNews.com

"And demonstrating their Depression-era roots, they had a little rack next to the sink where they would hang Ziploc bags to dry," Jason Carter said, as the crowd laughed.

"In my 49 years, I never perceived a difference between his public face and his private one. He was the same person," Jason Carter said. "For me, that’s the definition of integrity."

"His political life and his presidency, for me, was not just ahead of its time -- it was prophetic. He had the courage and strength to stick to his principles, even when they were politically unpopular," Jason Carter said. "As governor of Georgia half a century ago, he preached an end to racial discrimination and an end to mass incarceration. As president in the 1970s, as you've heard, he protected more land than any other president in history. Fifty years ago, he was a climate warrior who pushed for a world where we conserved energy, limited emissions and traded our reliance on fossil fuels for expanded renewable sources."

Jason Carter highlighted how through his work at the Carter Center, his grandfather nearly eradicated guinea worm disease through "love and respect."

There used to be 3.5 million cases each year, and last year, there were 14, Jason Carter said.

"The thing that's remarkable is that this disease is not eliminated with medicine. It's eliminated essentially by neighbors talking to neighbors about how to collect water in the poorest and most marginalized villages in the world. And those neighbors truly were my grandfather's partners for the last 40 years," he said. "And as this disease has been eliminated in every village in Nigeria, every village in Sudan or Uganda, what's left behind in those tiny, 600 person villages is an army of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carters who have demonstrated their own power to change their world."

President Carter's beloved wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, died on Nov. 19, 2023, at the age of 96.

Jason Carter said that, in recent weeks, his grandfather "told us he was ready to see her again."

Stuart Eizenstat, who was former President Jimmy Carter's chief domestic policy adviser, praised Carter's "unshakable sense of right and wrong."

"His faith brought integrity to the presidency after Watergate and Vietnam," Eizenstat recalled. "'I will never lie to you,' he promised the American people -- a vow he fulfilled."

Carter is known for his deep faith, and Eizenstat noted how Carter's "faith respected other religions -- he was the first president to light a Hanukkah menorah and he created the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum."

"This president from the deepest part of the Deep South championed civil rights, appointing more people of color and women to senior executive positions and judgeships than all previous 38 presidents," he said.

"President Carter parked politics at the Oval Office door, to do what he believed was the right thing -- tackling controversial challenges regardless of the political consequences. Much of his agenda passed with bipartisan support, a quaint notion in today’s hyper-polarized politics," Eizenstat said.

He said Carter "was the first president to make human rights a priority for U.S. foreign policy, which led directly to the freeing of thousands of political prisoners in Latin America, stimulating a lasting democratic movement."

"He ushered in a new era in hemispheric relations with the Panama Canal Treaties, the toughest legislative battle of his presidency," Eizenstat said, as President-elect Donald Trump looked on. Trump this week slammed Carter for overseeing diplomatic negotiations to turn over the Panama Canal.