The former First Lady married Ronald Reagan in 1952, and was by his side through Hollywood and the Presidency before he, of course, preceded her in death almost 12 years ago.
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Reagan knew if he came in the house and it smelled of bath salts, Nancy was upstairs, soaking in the tub, thinking of a witty response she should have given to a reporter. I now understood that each new day was a gift to be treasured, and that I had to be more involved in seeing that my husband was protected in every possible way, “she wrote in “My Turn: The Memoirs of Nancy Reagan”.
Nancy Reagan earned a goodbye fit for an icon.
Added former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: “Nancy Reagan was one of my heroes”. It was there, at the president’s funeral in June 2004, that much of the world watched the tearful widow lean over his coffin to say farewell as the sun set over Simi Valley.
“Her influence of the White House was complete and lasting”, he wrote. Even that unblinking gaze of connubial adoration that had annoyed feminists seemed forgiven.
She never stopped grieving. “She’s with her Ronnie now, but those of us she left behind will miss her dearly”.
“Nancy Reagan was hurt by it, it bothered her because people didn’t understand”, Duberstein said. It was also polarizing. Her lavish lifestyle – in the midst of a recession and with her husband’s administration cutting spending on the needy – inspired the mocking moniker “Queen Nancy”.
Nancy Davis met Ronald Reagan in 1951, when he was president of the Screen Actors Guild, and they married the next year. “She was the anchor”. Above all, her judgments on public policy issues, political strategy, and personnel were superb.
President Barack Obama sent his condolences to Mrs Reagan’s family, adding it was “prayerful that she and her beloved husband are together again”.
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“She got a mailing that was for another Nancy Davis, and this other Nancy Davis was in connection with one of those Hollywood blacklists that were going on in the Hollywood red-hunting days”, biographer Lou Cannon said. “During the 1980 campaign, Governor Reagan was asked if Nancy Reagan would have a cause if he won and he joked, ‘Probably me, mostly'”. She had a key role in “The Next Voice You Hear …”, an unusual drama about a family that hears God’s voice on the radio.
