Devoted wife of late former Republican president Ronald Reagan, Nancy, has passed away at age 94 in her Los Angeles home.
The former first lady’s spokeswoman Joanne Drake confirmed she died of congestive heart failure, and that she will be buried next to her beloved husband at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
Mrs Reagan was recognised as one of the United States’ most influential first ladies during her husband’s time in office between 1981 and 1989.
Mr Regan died in 2004 after a long struggle with Alzhaimer’s, which Mrs Reagan became an advocate for when her husband was diagnosed.
Prior to being America’s first lady, Mrs Reagan served as the first lady of California between 1967 and 1975.
Mrs Reagan was a controversial figure in her time, being a strong political partner and adviser to her husband. With regard to her power, she has been ranked among Franklin Roosevelt’s wife Eleanor, Woodrow Wilson’s wife Edith, and Hillary Clinton, currently running for president.
Before politics, Mrs Reagan worked as an actress in Hollywood, where she met Mr Reagan, a prominent actor himself in the 1940s and 1950s.
“I see the first lady as another means to keep a president from becoming isolated,” she said in 1985.
“I talk to people. They tell me things. And if something is about to become a problem, I’m not above calling a staff person and asking about it.
“I’m a woman who loves her husband and I make no apologies for looking out for his personal and political welfare.”
She was always a stickler for protocol and detail and stoically presided over the former president’s weeklong funeral and celebration of his life in June 2004, ABC News reported.
Rest In Peace Nancy Reagan.
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