Jimmy Carter 's extended public farewell began Saturday in Georgia, with the 39th U.S. president’s flag-draped casket tracing his long arc from the Depression-era South and family farming business to the pinnacle of American political power and decades as a global humanitarian.

The events marked the first of a multiday celebration of Carter, who died last Sunday at his home in Plains, the tiny town of his childhood and the launchpad for his storied political career.

President Jimmy Carter's remains were brought to the Carter Center in Atlanta on Jan. 4. He will lie in repose until he is transported to Washington, D.C. for a funeral at Washington National Cathedral on Jan.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart's father, Sonny, died Saturday morning after suffering complications from hip surgery he underwent following a fall in New Orleans before the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Kirby Smart’s father, Sonny, died Saturday of complications from hip surgery after falling in New Orleans ahead of the Sugar Bowl.

Sonny Smart, a football coach at two Georgia high schools and father of Georgia football coach Kirby Smart, died early Saturday, UGA announced