Nancy Reagan Dead at 94

Former US First Lady Nancy Reagan speaks before the unveiling of a statue of her husband,
KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images
Jarrett Stepman

Nancy Reagan has died at the age of 94, according to TMZ. Mrs. Ronald Reagan, as she wished to be known even when her husband died, was the 40th president’s closest confidant and a played a major role in his career and presidency.

When Ronald Reagan died, an ABC News report said that “their love story has always been a part of the presidential story.”

The New York Times wrote, “Mrs. Reagan was a fierce guardian of her husband’s image, sometimes at the expense of her own, and during Mr. Reagan’s improbable climb from a Hollywood acting career to the governorship of California and ultimately the White House, she was a trusted adviser.”

Reagan biographer Craig Shirley wrote in his book Last Act: The Final Years and Enduring Legacy of Ronald Reagan, “They were best friends and soul mates, and his letters over the years left no doubt as to the depth of their mutual love.”

“Mrs. Reagan was a balm to him and he hated being on the road without her,” Shirley once said in an interview. “His diaries recount on several occasions how much he missed her when she was traveling. She also was better as judging who was there to help Reagan versus helping themselves than he was.They were the consummate team, madly in love with each other and content to be alone with no one else around.”

The world may have never had the man who won the Cold War if it was not for the driving force of Nancy in his life. Ronald Reagan aide Michael Deaver once said that, “Without Nancy, there would have been no Governor Reagan, no President Reagan.”

Ronald and Nancy Reagan met in 1949 when Ronald was the head of the Screen Actors Guild and they married three years later. Their bond was deep and a driving force behind Ronald Reagan’s relentless and successful political career.

When Ronald Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1994, Nancy become his primary caretaker until his death in 2004. Throughout that time she remained a guardian of his legacy.

Tributes have poured in from across the country:

 

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