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.