Former first lady Nancy Reagan dead at 94

Former first lady Nancy Reagan dead at 94


Nancy Reagan, the widow of President Ronald Reagan and passionately devoted keeper of his flame, died Sunday morning of congestive heart failure at 94, according to her spokesperson.

Reagan died at her home in Los Angeles. She’s set to be buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, next to her husband. Prior to the funeral, there will be an opportunity for members of the public to pay their respects at the Library, the spokesperson said. Details had not yet been announced Sunday afternoon.

Reagan, whose husband died in 2004, had appeared frail after suffering several falls in recent years. In May 2012 it was disclosed she had broken several ribs in a fall at her Los Angeles home six weeks earlier.

Memorials poured in from many in the political world.

“Nancy Reagan was totally devoted to President Reagan, and we take comfort that they will be reunited once more,” former First Lady Barbara Bush said in a statement. “George and I send our prayers and condolences to her family.”

Although she initially worked as an actress, the former first lady was, first and foremost, Mrs. Ronald Reagan.

“My life really began when I married my husband,” Nancy Reagan once said, and for 52 years of marriage they were a fiercely close and devoted couple.