(AP) - President Joe Biden broke from his family vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands to remember former president Jimmy Carter, recalling his predecessor as a role model and friend.

America and the world lost a “remarkable leader” with Carter’s death, Biden said, adding that he had spoken to several of the former president’s children and was working with them to formalize memorial arrangements in Washington.

Speaking for roughly 10 minutes, Biden remembered Carter as a humanitarian and statesman, someone he couldn’t imagine walking past a person in need without trying to help them. He represented “the most fundamental human values we can never let slip away,” Biden said.

The president repeatedly praised Carter’s “simple decency” and his values, saying some will see him as a man of honesty and humility from a bygone era.

Biden scheduled a state funeral in Washington for Carter on Jan. 9. He also declared the day of the funeral as a National Day of Mourning across the United States and ordered U.S. flags to fly at half-staff for 30 days from Sunday.

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