JFK+50: Volume 6, No. 1882
FORMER FIRST LADY NANCY REAGAN DEAD AT AGE 94
Los Angeles, California (JFK+50) This past Sunday, March 6, 2016, former first lady Nancy Davis Reagan* passed away "at her home in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles." The cause of death was given as congestive heart failure.
Mrs. Reagan served as First Lady beside her popular husband, President Ronald Wilson Reagan, from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989. She was one of the most active and influential First Ladies of modern times.
She not only made her mark on executive decisions in the West Wing, she also had the family quarters of the Executive Mansion remodeled. She raised more than $800,000 from the private sector for the project.
Mrs. Reagan is most likely best remembered for her "Just Say No" campaign against illegal drugs.
After her husband as a former president was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, she became his full-time caretaker and after his death worked to enhance his legacy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.
Mrs. Reagan also became an advocate of embryonic stem cell research. In 1989, she wrote "My Turn" which chronicled her years in the White House.
*Nancy Davis Reagan (1921-2016) was born in New York City but later moved to Chicago when her mom remarried. She graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts in 1943 majoring in English & Drama.
NDR signed a contract with MGM in 1949 and appeared in 11 feature films. She married Ronald Reagan on March 4, 1952 & served as 1st Lady of California from 1967-1975 before serving as 1st Lady of the Nation.
SOURCES
"Former first lady Reagan dies," by Christopher Weber, Associated Press, Knoxville News Sentinel, March 7, 2016. www.KnoxNews.com
"Presidents, Every Question Answered: Everything You Could Possibly Want to Know About the Nation's Chief Executives," by Carter Smith, Hinkle Books Pty Ltd, Heatherton, Victoria, Australia (2014).
PRESIDENT REAGAN DOUBLES DOWN ON EVIL EMPIRE
Orlando, Florida (JFK+50) Thirty-three years ago today, March 8, 1983, President Ronald Wilson Reagan, speaking to the National Association of Evangelicals here in Orlando, referred to the Soviet Union as "evil."
This made the second time in his Presidency that Mr. Reagan had made this reference. The first time was in an address to the British House of Commons in 1982 when he called the Soviet Union an "evil empire."
Reagan advocated a policy of active intervention against the Soviet buildup of nuclear weapons as well as Soviet efforts to spread communism into third world countries.
The President said...
"So, in your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride--the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil."
FORMER FIRST LADY NANCY REAGAN DEAD AT AGE 94
Los Angeles, California (JFK+50) This past Sunday, March 6, 2016, former first lady Nancy Davis Reagan* passed away "at her home in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles." The cause of death was given as congestive heart failure.
Mrs. Reagan served as First Lady beside her popular husband, President Ronald Wilson Reagan, from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989. She was one of the most active and influential First Ladies of modern times.
She not only made her mark on executive decisions in the West Wing, she also had the family quarters of the Executive Mansion remodeled. She raised more than $800,000 from the private sector for the project.
Mrs. Reagan is most likely best remembered for her "Just Say No" campaign against illegal drugs.
After her husband as a former president was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, she became his full-time caretaker and after his death worked to enhance his legacy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.
Mrs. Reagan also became an advocate of embryonic stem cell research. In 1989, she wrote "My Turn" which chronicled her years in the White House.
*Nancy Davis Reagan (1921-2016) was born in New York City but later moved to Chicago when her mom remarried. She graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts in 1943 majoring in English & Drama.
NDR signed a contract with MGM in 1949 and appeared in 11 feature films. She married Ronald Reagan on March 4, 1952 & served as 1st Lady of California from 1967-1975 before serving as 1st Lady of the Nation.
SOURCES
"Former first lady Reagan dies," by Christopher Weber, Associated Press, Knoxville News Sentinel, March 7, 2016. www.KnoxNews.com
"Presidents, Every Question Answered: Everything You Could Possibly Want to Know About the Nation's Chief Executives," by Carter Smith, Hinkle Books Pty Ltd, Heatherton, Victoria, Australia (2014).
The Reagans with Jacqueline Kennedy
June 24, 1985
Fund Raiser for the JFK Library
JFK Library Photo
Orlando, Florida (JFK+50) Thirty-three years ago today, March 8, 1983, President Ronald Wilson Reagan, speaking to the National Association of Evangelicals here in Orlando, referred to the Soviet Union as "evil."
This made the second time in his Presidency that Mr. Reagan had made this reference. The first time was in an address to the British House of Commons in 1982 when he called the Soviet Union an "evil empire."
Reagan advocated a policy of active intervention against the Soviet buildup of nuclear weapons as well as Soviet efforts to spread communism into third world countries.
The President said...
"So, in your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride--the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil."
President Reagan
41st Annual Convention
National Association of Evangelicals
Orlando, Florida
March 8, 1983
White House Photographic Office Image
