Nancy Davis Reagan came into this world on the 5th of July, 1921, in Flushing, Queens, New York as Anne Francis Robbins.She moved to Maryland after her parents separated, but moved to Chicago when her mother remarried. Her Hollywood CV included THE NEXT VOICE YOU HEAR, DONOVAN'S BRAIN, and her first movie with her future husband Ronald Reagan, HELLCATS OF THE NAVY. They had two children together and she was the First Lady of California when her husband was the Governor from 1967 to 1975.
However, it will be for her work as the First Lady of the Nation during her husband's Presidential administration from 1981 to 1989 that she will be best remembered. She told children to "Just Say No" to drugs and yes to life and brought a certain sophistication back to the White House that had been missing when Jackie Kennedy Onassis moved out. During the current battle for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, it will also be remembered that she conducted herself with intelligence, wit, and decorum, three qualities which, unfortunately, are missing from both sides of the aisle.
In 1989, Nancy and Ron retired to their home in Bel Air, CA where she spent most of her later days caring for her husband, diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, until his passing in 2004. She continued to support the Reagan Library until Sunday, March 6, when she died of breast cancer. She leaves behind Patti and Ron Reagan and a gaping hole in the Nation's heart. We will always Just Say Yes to Nancy Reagan, and no biography, no matter how far-fetched its allegations, can make us feel otherwise.
I was going to end this with a promo for my upcoming serial, THIS HAPPY PLACE, but Nancy's departure making this world a less happy place makes it seem totally inappropriate.
Happy Trails, Nancy.
Steve
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