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Former first lady Nancy Reagan dies at age 94

Several media outlets are reporting that former first lady Nancy Reagan died.

 

Funeral arrangements set for Nancy Reagan

A private funeral service will be held Friday for former first lady Nancy Reagan, who died Sunday at the age of 94.

Reagan will lie in repose Wednesday and Thursday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi, Calif., according to the library’s foundation. Members of the public will get a chance to pay respects between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Wednesday and 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Thursday. Heightened security at the facility is expected.

Nancy Reagan will be buried next to her husband on the grounds of the library.

Nancy Reagan died in Bel Air, Calif. of congestive heart failure, leading to an outpouring of remembrances for the former first lady.

President Obama, who ordered flags flown at half-staff to honor Reagan, personally praised her on Monday, calling her “gracious” and “charming” when he and first lady Michelle Obama entered the White House.

“I think it’s been well documented the extraordinary love that she had for her husband, and the extraordinary comfort and strength she provided him during really hard times,” the president told media in the Oval Office.

  • Santa Barbara says:

    Nancy Reagan:

    1. What will happen to your thousands of wardrobe pieces being held in the San Fernando Valley warehouse, being paid for by public funds ?

    2. What will be happen to a thousand presidential artifacts, which are not housed in the Presidential Museum, & sitting growing dust in the San Fernando Valley warehouse, paid for by taxpayers?

    3. What will happen to the 750,000 Christmas card reciprocate list, the largest in presidential history?

    4. How many students did Reaganomics oust from getting a college education, since Reaganomics cut off Social Security to the age of 25; and under, for thousand of children of widower parents ?

    5. How many additional accountants does it take to create a new depreciation tax forms, instigated by Reaganomics?

    6. How many families were destroyed, when the Reaganomics stop credit card interest deductions on their yearly income tax?

    7. How many trips were taken to Europe by the Reagans, during the Ronald Regan administration, for pleasure purposes?

    8. The first Mrs. J Reagan, (Jane Wyman Reagan), what happened to her vast empire related to the Wyman department stores?

    9. When will the Century City offices of Ronald Reagan be 100% vacated, since the taxpayers of the United States are paying for this air space ?

    10. Why was the Santa Barbara Ranch liquidated at below market value sales price, but the people of the United States paid to have the ranch retrofitted for the FBI, plus have running water, communications’, etc, delivery to the ranch?

    11. Why did Mr. Reagan ( Governor) increase tuition for all state universities, as the expense of leaving many students without the opportunity of earning a college degree?

    12. Nancy, you left the world, very upset at both Ret. Bushes ( Sr/Jr) because they did not support Stem Cell research, in return, did your legacy aid in moving stem cells along in order to aid Alzheimer’s Disease?

    13. Nancy, your were an icon for the stylish arts of the world and White House. Do you think today’s women of the USA, would march in your shoes, or do you think more woman would address more economy and hunger; and less materialism?

    14. Nancy, your home on 688 St Cloud, Bel Aire, employed the most secret service employees in history, because you purchased the home, without FBI consent. When Ron took office, he vowed to lower government spending, so why did this not spill over towards your payroll of national staffers?

    https://www.loscerritosnews.net/2016/03/06/former-first-lady-nancy-reagan-dies-at-age-94/

  • El Nino says:

    President Richard Nixon’s funeral, April of 1994, in Yorba Linda, Calif., many Cerritos / La Palma / Cypress residents came to pay their last respects, stood in line for more than 12 hours, lining residential streets, to see the closed coffin on public dsiplay..

    Said funeral was attended by the Reagans, possibly the last time we saw six ( 6) presidents in a row, Nancy Reagan was one of the participants in the Richard Nixon’s funeral party at Yorba Linda, California.

    Right after the funeral, we had an horrific El Nino rain, everybody said it washed away all the bad connections to the Richard Nixon era. Many of the viewers received free umbrellas, as the El Nino drenching rains, hurriedly scared the news reporters away and left brief cases and umbrella behind.

    Odd timing, this week, Southern California is finally being attacked by El Nino Rain events, again, washing away all of the Lilly white Hollywood hoopla & excessive money from Reagan era. Wonder how many millions of public money will be spent in mourning former first lady…NANCY REAGAN…

    https://www.loscerritosnews.net/2016/03/06/former-first-lady-nancy-reagan-dies-at-age-94/

  • Simi Valley says:

    Funeral arrangements set for Nancy Reagan

    A private funeral service will be held Friday for former first lady Nancy Reagan, who died Sunday at the age of 94.

    Reagan will lie in repose Wednesday and Thursday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi, Calif., according to the library’s foundation. Members of the public will get a chance to pay respects between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Wednesday and 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Thursday. Heightened security at the facility is expected.

    Nancy Reagan will be buried next to her husband on the grounds of the library.

    Nancy Reagan died in Bel Air, Calif. of congestive heart failure, leading to an outpouring of remembrances for the former first lady.

    President Obama, who ordered flags flown at half-staff to honor Reagan, personally praised her on Monday, calling her “gracious” and “charming” when he and first lady Michelle Obama entered the White House.

    “I think it’s been well documented the extraordinary love that she had for her husband, and the extraordinary comfort and strength she provided him during really hard times,” the president told media in the Oval Office.

  • 4 First Ladies to Attend Nancy Reagan’s Funeral
    First ladies Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Rosalynn Carter will pay tribute to Iconic first lady Nancy Reagan Friday.

    LOS ANGELES, CA – Four first ladies, including Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, and current first lady Michelle Obama will be among those attending Friday’s funeral service for Nancy Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.

    Clinton campaign spokesman Nick Merrill wrote on his Twitter account that the former first lady “is going to drop off the (campaign) trail briefly on Friday to attend Nancy Reagan’s funeral services in California.”

    Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, are also expected to attend, along with former first lady Rosalynn Carter, according to officials at the Reagan Library.

    Former President Lyndon Johnson’s daughters Luci and Lynda are expected to attend, along with Tricia Nixon Cox, a daughter of President Richard Nixon.

    The White House announced Monday that Michelle Obama will be in attendance. President Barack Obama is not expected to accompany his wife.

    “Mrs. Reagan was a woman of incredible strength and grace and she was a passionate advocate for so many important issues,” Michelle Obama said today. “For the example she set both during her time in the White House and beyond, Mrs. Reagan reminded us of the importance of women’s leadership at every level of society.

    “And on a personal note, Mrs. Reagan also understood the value of mentoring,” she said. “She warmly and willingly offered advice and encouragement to me as I settled in to my role as first lady, and I am so grateful for her kindness and generosity to me and my family over the years.”

    Nancy Reagan, who died in her sleep Sunday at her Bel Air home at the age of 94, will be buried Friday next to her husband, the 40th president, with whom she had a love affair spanning five decades.

    U.S. flags on public buildings across the country — and at the Reagan Library — were lowered to half-staff in her memory Monday, following a directive from President Barack Obama.

    “I think it’s been well-documented the extraordinary love that she had for her husband, and the extraordinary comfort and strength she provided him during really hard times,” Obama said in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. “As somebody who is lucky enough to have an extraordinary partner in my life as well, I know how much she meant not just to President Reagan but to the country as a whole.

    “He was lucky to have her,” Obama said. “… She will be missed.”

    The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation announced that funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the library. The service will be closed to the public.

    Nancy Reagan will lie in repose at the Reagan library from 1 to 7 p.m. Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, giving people a chance to pay their respects. No parking will be allowed at the library. People who want to pay their respects will need to park at the former Bank of America property at 400 National Way, Simi Valley, and take a shuttle.

    Foundation officials noted that security will be tight, so people should not bring large bags, cameras or strollers. Gifts and flowers will only be accepted at the bottom of Presidential Drive and at the shuttle pickup location.

    According to the foundation, Nancy Reagan requested that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Ronald Reagan Memorial Fund at http://www.reaganlibrary.com.

    The Reagan library will remain closed to the public until 10 a.m. Sunday.

    A fierce protector of her husband’s presidential legacy, the woman behind the “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign and the first lady known for tasteful glamour at the White House, Nancy Reagan died of congestive heart failure while asleep at the Bel Air home where she had lived since 1989, Ronald Reagan Foundation spokeswoman Joanne Drake said.

    Reagan’s daughter, Patti Davis, said in a statement on her website that her mother “had been in poor health for quite a while, and recently had gotten markedly worse, so this wasn’t a surprise.”

    “That said, death always feels like a surprise,” she said. “I appreciate the attention and prayers of people I will probably never meet. Just as when my father died, there is comfort in feeling surrounded by gentle thoughts and kind wishes, often sent out by strangers. And just as when my father died, we will honor my mother publicly — stand on the public stage and share as much as we can. Then, when that is completed, we’ll draw the circle in a little tighter and deal with the often complicated map of personal loss.”

    Born Anne Frances Robbins in a troubled home in New York City, the future first lady was adopted and gained a new last name from her stepfather, Dr. Loyal Davis, a Chicago physician.

    Anne Davis went by the nickname Nancy as she grew up and graduated from Smith College in 1943, did some acting on the Broadway stage and broke into the movies when MGM’s George Cukor gave her a bit part in 1949’s “East Side, West Side.” The studio changed her first name to Nancy.

    After the name Nancy Davis was printed in a newspaper letter supporting blacklisted scriptwriters, she sought the help of the Screen Actors Guild to make it clear that she was not that Nancy Davis, and the listing had been a mistake. Ronald Reagan was the president of the guild, who helped her make sure the studios and public made that distinction.

    They married in March 1952, and together purchased a home at 1251 Amalfi Drive, in Pacific Palisades, where they lived until a move to Sacramento in 1966. They had two children together, Patti and Ron Jr., and she also helped raise Ronald Reagan’s two children with his first wife, Jane Wyman.

    “Hellcats Of the Navy” in 1957 was the only movie they appeared together in, but she continued to act in TV and minor movie roles.

    But her biggest role turned out to be as Ronald Reagan’s adviser, counselor and protector when he was in public life, and later, serving as his chief caregiver after he became stricken by Alzheimer’s disease. Reagan died in June 2004.

  • Nancy Reagan’s Casket Moving to Simi Valley for Public Viewing
    She will lie in repose at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum from 1 to 7 p.m. today and again from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday

    Nancy Reagan’s Casket Moving to Simi Valley for Public Viewing

    SANTA MONICA, CA – Nancy Reagan casket will be moved Wednesday from a Santa Monica funeral home to Simi Valley where thousands of Southland residents are expected to pay their final respects to former first lady Nancy Reagan, who died in Bel Air Sunday at age 94.

    Reagan will lie in repose at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum from 1 to 7 p.m. and again from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday.

    Her casket will be taken from Gates-Kingsley & Gates Mortuary at 10 a.m. and driven in a motorcade to the Reagan Library, where is it scheduled to arrive at 11 a.m. Eight U.S. Secret Service agents will serve as pallbearers.

    Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Kinnersley was assigned to President Ronald Reagan after he left office, according to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. The seven others all served Nancy Reagan in the past: Supervisory Special Officer Christopher Cousino and special agents Thomas Feuerborn, Tim Yoshitake, Cory Chhiap, Steven Kulpaca, Nathan Judd and Melanie Lentz.

    People hoping to view the casket will not be able to drive to the museum but will have to park at the former Bank of America property at 400 National Way in Simi Valley and take a shuttle.

    Ronald Reagan Foundation officials noted that security will be tight and advised people not to bring large bags, cameras or strollers. Gifts and flowers will only be accepted at the bottom of Presidential Drive and at the shuttle pickup location.

    According to the foundation, Nancy Reagan requested that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Ronald Reagan Memorial Fund at http://www.reaganlibrary.com.

    The Reagan library will remain closed to the general public until 10 a.m. Sunday.

    There’s no estimate of how many people will attend during the two-day visitation, but the museum is bracing for large crowds since Nancy Reagan’s funeral service at 11 a.m. Friday will be closed to the public.

    A trio of former first ladies, including Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, are among those expected to attend Friday’s funeral service, along with current first lady Michelle Obama, although President Barack Obama is not expected to be there.

    “Mrs. Reagan was a woman of incredible strength and grace and she was a passionate advocate for so many important issues,” Michelle Obama said Tuesday. “For the example she set both during her time in the White House and beyond, Mrs. Reagan reminded us of the importance of women’s leadership at every level of society. And on a personal note, Mrs. Reagan also understood the value of mentoring,” she said.

    “She warmly and willingly offered advice and encouragement to me as I settled into my role as first lady, and I am so grateful for her kindness and generosity to me and my family over the years.”

    Clinton campaign spokesman Nick Merrill wrote on his Twitter account Tuesday that Hillary Clinton “is going to drop off the (campaign) trail briefly on Friday to attend Nancy Reagan’s funeral services in California.”

    Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, are also expected to attend, along with former first lady Rosalynn Carter, according to officials at the Reagan Library.

    Former President Lyndon Johnson’s daughters, Luci and Lynda, are expected to attend, along with Tricia Nixon Cox, a daughter of President Richard Nixon.

    Nancy Reagan will be buried next to her husband, the 40th president, with whom she had a love affair spanning five decades.

    U.S. flags on public buildings across the country — and at the Reagan Library — were lowered to half-staff in her memory Monday, following a directive from the president.

    A fierce protector of her husband’s presidential legacy, the woman behind the “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign and the first lady known for tasteful glamour at the White House, Nancy Reagan died of congestive heart failure while asleep at the Bel Air home where she had lived since 1989, Ronald Reagan Foundation spokeswoman Joanne Drake said.

    The Reagans were married in March 1952 and purchased a home in Pacific Palisades, where they lived until a move to Sacramento in 1966. They had two children together, Patti and Ron Jr., and she also helped raise Ronald Reagan’s two children with his first wife, Jane Wyman.

    Ronald and Nancy Reagan were both actors, but “Hellcats Of the Navy” in 1957 was the only movie in which they appeared together, although she continued to act in TV and minor movie roles.

    Her biggest roles, however, were not on the screen, but as Ronald Reagan’s adviser, counselor and protector when he was in public life, and later, as his chief caregiver after he became stricken by Alzheimer’s disease. Reagan died in June 2004.

    Reagan’s daughter, Patti Davis, said in a statement on her website that her mother “had been in poor health for quite a while, and recently had gotten markedly worse, so this wasn’t a surprise.”

    “That said, death always feels like a surprise,” she said. “I appreciate the attention and prayers of people I will probably never meet. Just as when my father died, there is comfort in feeling surrounded by gentle thoughts and kind wishes, often sent out by strangers.

    “And just as when my father died, we will honor my mother publicly — stand on the public stage and share as much as we can. Then, when that is completed, we’ll draw the circle in a little tighter and deal with the often complicated map of personal loss.”

  • $33 M says:

    $33-million spec house pays homage to Ronald and Nancy Reagan home once on the site

    The newly built spec house on the site of a home once owned by Ronald and Nancy Reagan is for sale at $33 million.

    A Pacific Palisades estate built on property once owned by the late presidential couple Ronald and Nancy Reagan is on the market as a pocket listing at $33 million.

    The developers and investor-owners, Jaman Properties, are relying on word of mouth and an invitation-only party to sell the 12,000-square-foot Spanish Revival-style main and guest houses that occupy the site of the Reagans’ onetime home.

    The Reagans bought the two-thirds of an acre of land in early 1957. Ronald Reagan was hosting “The General Electric” television show and GE offered to turn the house into a “home of the future” with all-electric kitchen appliances. The Reagans maintained the ranch house as their family residence while Ronald Reagan commuted to Sacramento for his job as state governor. They sold it in 1982.

    Some amenities from the Reagans’ pre-presidential years have been preserved. Party-goers will be able to sip cocktails served at the living room’s original wet bar and have their photos taken in the bathroom where Ronald Reagan popped out of the shower to learn he had won the presidency.

    The new house has such lavish features as a 2,000-square-foot master suite with luggage and shoe closets and a 2,000-square-foot temperature-controlled wine room. Details include a red tile roof, high ceilings and wooden beams. One of the two garages has a glass front and contains a bar with a kegerator.

    The contemporary Mediterranean is built on the site of a onetime home of Ronald and Nancy Reagan in Pacific Palisades. (Chad Z. King / A Bird’s Eye, Lee Manning and Ethan Pines Photography)
    Gone is the Reagan projection booth, but the new house does have a screening room.

    Perched above the city, the home and swimming pool take in 270-degree views.

    The property previously sold three years ago for $5.221 million, public records show.

    David Offer of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties has the pocket listing.

  • Museum says:

    Hillsides around the Reagan Museum, reminded me of the countryside in Ireland, green green hillsides. The hills could not have been any Greener.

    Disappointed when the bus merged at the hillside entrance-way, the Ronald Reagan Museum Marquee sign displayed neglect, bare dirt, and very few flower arrangements at the base for Nancy’s event.

    Upon entering the museum foyer, most disappointing to see the cheap construction grade vinyl floor, Museum of this caliber should have wood plank floor or marble flooring.

    Room where Nancy Laid for public display, again disappointing there was not very many flower arrangements placed for the Ret. First lady of California and USA. For such a joyous celebration of life, I wasn’t expecting a Pasadena Rose Parade, expecting more flowers then this.

    The views surrounding this Museum are out of this world. Both Nancy and Ronald chose a fantastic location for the museum, just wondering how many years or decades will pass before the museum is surrounded by the urban crawl from cities of Los Angeles housing . Definitely a plus, everybody in Los Angeles and Southern California should at least see this Museum once in their lives. It still has a ways to go to meet the standards of Richard Nixon’s Museum in Yorba Linda. California is very fortunate to be a state for ( 2) presidential museums. They are priceless.

    http://www.nixonfoundation.org/

    http://www.reaganfoundation.org/nancy-memorial.aspx

  • Funeral Cast says:

    Nancy Reagan’s Funeral: Heads of State, Journalists and Celebrities to Honor Iconic First Lady
    Nancy Reagan planned her own funeral from pallbearers and opera singer to celebrity guest list and exact resting place next to her husband.

    The program for the funeral of Nancy Reagan was released today as the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, where she will be buried, braced for hundreds of members of the public to come pay the former first lady their final respects.

    Nancy Reagan, who died in her sleep in her Bel Air home of congestive heart failure at the age of 94 on Sunday, will be buried Friday next to the nation’s 40th president and former California governor, with whom she had a love affair spanning more than 50 years.

    The ceremony, which will be attended by invited guests, is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. The Reagan library will remain closed to the general public until 10 a.m. this Sunday.

    The Reagan Presidential Foundation this morning released the program for the ceremony. It reflected that former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney will read a letter that Ronald Reagan wrote to Nancy Reagan, and broadcaster Diane Sawyer will read a section from the Gospel of John.

    Also scheduled to deliver “reflections” are former Secretary of State James Baker, broadcaster Tom Brokaw, and Nancy Reagan’s children, Patti Davis and Ronald Reagan.

    Opera soprano Ana Marie Martinez will sing a section from a requiem.

    No role in the ceremony was listed for Michael Reagan, the adopted son of Ronald Reagan and his first wife, the late actress Jane Wyman.

    Nancy Reagan, a one-time actress, helped plan many of the details of her memorial and funeral service, from the pallbearers to the guest list to the exact location of her interment at her husband’s side.

    A trio of former first ladies, including Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, are expected to attend the service, along with current first lady Michelle Obama, although President Barack Obama is not expected to be there.

    Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, are expected, along with former first lady Rosalynn Carter, according to Reagan Library officials. Tricia Nixon Cox, a daughter of President Richard Nixon, is also expected.

    Other expected guests, according to the Reagan Foundation, are Capt. Christopher Bolt, the commander of the USS Ronald Reagan; Katie Couric; Sam Donaldson; Chris Matthews; Newt and Callista Gingrich; Wayne Newton; Anjelica Huston; Melissa Rivers; Tina Sinatra; and Mr. T, the burly actor who took an active role in Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign in the 1980s.

    Nancy Reagan lay in repose at the Reagan Library until 7 p.m. Wednesday and will do so again from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today to give members of the public a chance to bid her farewell.

    Beginning at 1 p.m. Wednesday, doors to the museum were opened for people to view the casket, which was placed on a pedestal in the lobby, draped with yellow flowers and encircled by black velvet ropes.

    Overflow crowds attended the visitation. Reagan Foundation officials said 15 shuttle buses, seating 50 people each, ran between a remote parking area and the museum during the visitation. By about 5 p.m., there were still more than 1,000 people waiting at the parking area to be shuttled to the viewing, according to the foundation.

    The parking area is located at the former Bank of America property at 400 National Way in Simi Valley.

    During Wednesday’s visitation, 65-year-old Los Angeles Times photographer Ricardo DeAratanha was arrested on suspicion of resisting and obstructing a law enforcement officer, a misdemeanor, while transmitting photographs of the funeral motorcade, the newspaper reported today.

    Simi Valley police said he refused to identify himself and balked at providing identification, but the photographer’s attorney denied it, saying DeAratanha provided press credentials, including identification cards issued by The Times and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

    The attorney said officers swarmed DeAratanha, threw him to the ground and cuffed him. He was later taken to a hospital, where he was treated for a sprained elbow, according to The Times.

    Ronald Reagan Foundation officials, noting that tight security has been ordered, advised people not to bring large bags, cameras or strollers to the viewings. Gifts and flowers again will only be accepted today at the bottom of Presidential Drive and at the shuttle pickup location.

    According to the Reagan Foundation, Nancy Reagan requested that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Ronald Reagan Memorial Fund at http://www.reaganlibrary.com.

    Until Wednesday morning, the casket was at the Gates, Kingsley & Gates Moeller Murphy funeral home in Santa Monica, where relatives gathered around 9 a.m. for a private service conducted by the Rev. Stuart A. Kenworthy, the vicar of Washington National Cathedral and the man who will lead Friday’s funeral service. He was assisted by the Rev. Donn Moomaw, the Reagan’s family minister.

    Shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nancy Reagan’s casket was placed in a large black hearse to begin the trek to the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. Her casket was attended by eight pallbearers — all U.S. Secret Service agents who worked for her or her husband over the years.

    As the motorcade made its way north on the San Diego (405) Freeway, onlookers could be seen on overpasses to watch the procession below. The Los Angeles Fire Department displayed large American flags at a pair of locations along the route. When the motorcade transitioned to the westbound Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway, about a dozen LAFD firefighters stood at attention along the shoulder of the roadway and saluted as the hearse passed.

    Nancy Reagan was the woman behind the “Just Say No” campaign and a first lady known for adding glamour to the White House.

    The Reagans were married in March 1952 and lived in Pacific Palisades until they moved to Sacramento in 1966. They had two children together, Patti and Ron Jr., and she also helped raise Ronald Reagan’s two children with his first wife, Jane Wyman.

    Ronald and Nancy Reagan were both actors, but “Hellcats Of the Navy” in 1957 was the only movie in which they appeared together, although she later continued to act in TV and minor movie roles.

    Her biggest roles, however, were not on the screen, but as Ronald Reagan’s adviser, counselor and fierce protector when he was in public life, and later, as his chief caregiver after he became stricken by Alzheimer’s disease. Reagan died in June 2004.

  • Lady in Red says:

    Friends, family say final farewells to Nancy Reagan

    Patti Davis, center, and Ronald Prescott Reagan, left, pause at the casket during graveside service for Nancy Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Friday in Simi Valley.

    The Rev. Stuart A. Kenworthy, Vicar, Washington National Cathedral, presided over the funeral.

    The program included:

    — “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” sung by the Santa Susana High School Choir

    — Reading of Proverbs 31:10-31 by Anne Peterson, Nancy Reagan’s niece

    — Letter from Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan, read by former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney

    — “Ave Maria,” sung by opera singer Ana Maria Martinez

    — Reading of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 by Barton Hegeler, Nancy Reagan’s nephew

    — Reading of John 14:1-6 by Diane Sawyer

    — “Pie Jesu-Requiem,” sung by Martinez

    — Reflections by James A. Baker

    — Reflections by Tom Brokaw

    — Reflections by Patti Davis

    — Reflections by Ronald Prescott Reagan

    — “Amazing Grace,” sung by the Santa Susana High School Choir

    — Recessional with bagpipe played by Piper Major Bill Boetticher

    — “God Bless America”

    Notable guests:

    Presidential families:

    — Former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush

    — Michelle Obama

    — Hillary Clinton

    — Rosalynn Carter

    — Tricia Nixon Cox

    — Steven Ford

    — Lynda Bird Johnson Robb

    — Luci Baines Johnson

    — Caroline Kennedy

    Current and former politicians:

    — California Gov. Jerry Brown

    — Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

    — Former California Gov. Pete Wilson

    — Former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi

    — Newt and Callista Gingrich

    — Former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz

    Military:

    — Capt. Christopher Bolt, commanding officer USS Ronald Reagan

    Media and celebrities:

    — Katie Couric

    — Sam Donaldson

    — Steve Forbes

    — Larry King

    — Chris Matthews

    — Peggy Noonan

    — Diane Sawyer

    — Bo Derek

    — Mike Love

    — Wayne Newton

    — Anjelica Huston

    — Melissa Rivers

    — Tina Sinatra

    — Tom Selleck

    — Gary Sinise

    — Yakov Smirnoff

    — John Stamos

    — Mr. T

    SIMI VALLEY – Nancy Reagan is once again beside her beloved Ronnie.

    The former first lady’s life was celebrated Friday by 1,000 invited guests who gathered at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library to pay final tribute to her and to the enduring love she and her husband shared during a storied 52-year marriage.

    The funeral also marked one of the final chapters of a fading political era that stirs nostalgia among American conservative. Without Mrs. Reagan, her son said, the Republican renaissance of the 1980s might not have happened.

    “There would be no Ronald Reagan Presidential Library without a President Ronald Reagan, and there likely wouldn’t have been a President Ronald Reagan without a Nancy Reagan,” said Ron Reagan, delivering the last of several eulogies during the 90-minute service.

    Mourners from the top ranks of Washington and Hollywood heard how while President Reagan was generally affable and trusting, Mrs. Reagan was made of different cloth.

    She could be gracious and quick with a laugh, but also fiercely protective of her husband and sometimes quick to anger at any perceived slight directed at him.

    “I think we can admit that she was not always the easiest person to deal with,” her son said, drawing laughter from an audience filled with politicians, heads of state, actors, musicians, a former president and several first ladies.

    “She could be difficult. She could be demanding. She could a bit excessive. Truly she could be a royal pain in the ass when she wanted to be,” he continued. “But usually only so my father didn’t have to be.

    “If you happen to run into the ghost of Don Regan sometime, you can just ask him,” he added, drawing laughter with the reference to the former White House chief of staff Mrs. Reagan pushed her husband to fire after the two feuded over policy issues.

    “Occasionally I’ve thought that even God might not have the guts to argue with Nancy Reagan,” the couple’s daughter, Patti Davis, quipped.

    Each speaker also noted the couple’s enduring love.

    “When they were together, he hid love notes around the house for her to find,” said another Reagan former chief of staff, James Baker. “She reciprocated by secreting little notes in jellybeans in his suitcase.

    “Ronald and Nancy Reagan were defined by their love for each other,” Baker continued. “They were as close to being one person as it is possible for any two people to be.”

    President Reagan spoke in public so warmly, and so often, about his wife, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney recalled, that he once told Reagan he was making every other world leader look bad in front of their wives.

    “Well, Brian,” he said the president told him with a smile, “That’s your problem.”

    The guest list for the funeral told the story of the couple’s life together, which stretched from Hollywood’s Golden Age to the California statehouse during Reagan’s time as governor to the White House.

    The gathering also brought together Democrat and Republican, an unusual tableau at a time of deep division in Washington and on the 2016 campaign trail.

    Mourners included former Reagan administration official Ed Meese, former House Speakers Newt Gingrich (Republican) and Nancy Pelosi (Democrat), Mike Love of the Beach Boys and singer Johnny Mathis.

    Among those in the front row were first lady Michelle Obama, who was seated next to former President George W. Bush. Former first lady and current presidential candidate Hillary Clinton sat between Bush’s wife, Laura, and former first lady Rosalynn Carter. Gov. Jerry Brown escorted Mrs. Obama to the funeral, while former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived with his ex-wife, Maria Shriver.

    The actor Mr. T, who became friendly with Mrs. Reagan during her “Just Say No” to drugs campaign, arrived wearing an American flag bandanna.

    Heavy rain had been forecast for the ceremony, and guests were ushered into a cavernous waterproof tent behind the library. But a drenching downpour held off until the event concluded.

    Mrs. Reagan, who died Sunday at 94, was to be buried next to her husband on the library grounds.

    The sprawling, Spanish mission-style library is located between the Reagans’ post-White House home in the upscale Bel Air section of Los Angeles and Rancho del Cielo, the “ranch in the sky” where the Reagans spent their leisure time, sometimes on horseback, in the rugged mountains near Santa Barbara.

    On Wednesday and Thursday at the library, more than 5,500 mourners filed slowly past the former first lady’s closed casket, blanketed with white roses and peonies, Mrs. Reagan’s favorite flower.

    Tears often fell. The crowd, many in graying years, spoke to a time when it was “morning again in America” and the nation followed the Reagan doctrine to weaken Soviet influence during the Cold War.

    Reagan left the presidency after eight years, on Jan. 20, 1989.

    The library site, where the 40th president was buried in 2004, provides sweeping views of horse country dotted with oaks and, on a clear day, a vista to the Pacific.

    The Reagans “just fell in love” with the spot, Boston developer and Republican fundraiser Gerald Blakeley recalled in a 2004 interview. He was part of a partnership that donated the land where the library now sits.

  • Aids says:

    Maybe Nancy was too much of a controlling personality, which led to the demise of Pres. Reagan. Idle minds dye early; Ret. President could not think for himself.

    Thanks Nancy for educating USA of America on Aids/HIV, too bad you could not ignite more love for Aids by your Husband, in the war against Aids. Almost -7- yrs lapsed, before your husband recognized the wide spread fallout of AIDS in our country and world-wide.

  • Sad and too bad for growth of political and racial diversity, that all of the past presidents did not attend. There was invisible wall between the republicans and the democrats and Hollywood, on Friday mid day services. Attendees under the big white tent, were mostly white.

    Thurs, 3/9/2016, Cerritos City Council Meeting, did not close the council meeting in memory of the former first lady of California and our great country of United States. What kind of a symbol is this sending?

    Old Euro saying, the skies will open and pour rain, during an end to an political era. Sunday, when Nancy died in her sleep, Los Angeles skies poured rain, and on closing celebration of life, Friday, (3/11/2016) skies opened up again, over .5 inches of rain fell over southern California, clearing the air and allowing for spring growth to reappear.