Nancy Reagan (1921-2016)
Monday, March 7th, 2016March 7, 2016
Yesterday, March 6, former U.S. First Lady Nancy Davis Reagan died at her home in Los Angeles. Reagan had shared the White House with her husband, President Ronald Reagan, from 1981 to 1989. She was 94 years old.
Nancy Reagan
Credit: Library of Congress
Mrs. Reagan was born Anne Frances Robbins in 1921. Nicknamed Nancy, she grew up in New York City and Chicago. Her mother’s second husband, Loyal Davis, adopted Nancy and her last name changed from Robbins to Davis.
Nancy Davis graduated from Smith College in 1943, where she majored in drama. She became an actress in Hollywood, where she appeared in 11 motion pictures from 1949 to 1958. Her major films include East Side, West Side (1949), Night into Morning (1951), Donovan’s Brain (1953), and Hellcats of the Navy (1957).
Nancy Davis met actor Ronald Reagan in 1951, and they married the following year. They had two children, Patricia Ann, in 1952; and Ronald Prescott, in 1958. Ronald Reagan became active in conservative politics in the 1950’s. He served as the Republican governor of California before being elected president in 1980. As first lady, Nancy Reagan was a force behind the scenes in the White House. Her husband listened to her and most often followed her advice—from firing staff members she felt to be incompetent to apologizing on national television for his role in the Iran-contra scandal of the 1980′s. Mrs. Reagan spoke out against the use of illegal drugs, especially by young people. The slogan of the effort, “Just Say No,” became nationally known. After Ronald Reagan’s presidency ended in 1989, the Reagans moved to their ranch near Santa Barbara, California. Nancy Reagan continued her efforts to reduce drug abuse in the United States.
In 1994, Ronald Reagan revealed that he was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The disease causes an increasing loss of memory and other mental processes. Mrs. Reagan became known as a supporter of research on embryonic stem cells to find a treatment or cure for the disease. Ronald Reagan died of pneumonia complicated by Alzheimer’s disease in 2004.
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