Nancy Reagan Funeral: Family Memories And The Reading Of A Love Letter From Ronnie

Nancy Reagan was laid to rest today in a funeral she planned herself. She documented who she wanted to participate in the program and what flowers she wanted used in her service (peonies – her favorite flower) according to a People Magazine source. Only one addition was made to her requests. Nancy Reagan’s funeral ended the same way the funeral for her husband and former president Ronald Reagan ended, with bagpipe music, in a gesture the source called a “tribute to him and their love.”

Both of Nancy and Ronald Reagan’s children, Ronald Prescott Reagan and Patti Davis, spoke with admiration about their parents’ love for each other. NPR quotes Ron Reagan describing how they complemented each other.

“Both possessed great individual talents, but as a couple, they were more than the sum of their parts. They were co-equals; they completed each other.”

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When Patti Davis spoke of Nancy Reagan, she shared that the following.

“It’s no secret that my mother and I had a challenging and at times contentious relationship. I tried her patience and she intimidated me.”

Patti shared that a few days before Nancy Reagan’s death, she reminded her mother of a story she had shared with them several times over the years. Ronald used to get massages from a “large eastern European man.”

“On one of these days, as my father lay face down on the table, my mother tiptoed in, kissed him lightly on the back of his neck and tiptoed out. He didn’t know it was her. But he went through the rest of the massage, never said a word, and after the masseur left he said to my mother, ‘I don’t think we can have him back anymore.’ ‘Why,’ she asked him, ‘what happened?’ ‘Well, he kissed me.'”

“When she told him it was her, he was flooded with relief and said, ‘thank God, I didn’t know what to do.'”

Those in attendance at the funeral shared a laugh for a moment before Davis continued.

“My mother’s laughter in remembering that day would, unbeknownst to me, turn out to be the last time I would hear her laugh.”

She also shared fond memories of time spent together at the beach at times that she comforted her.

Among Nancy Reagan’s requests for her funeral was that former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney share a love letter the president gave her on the occasion of their first Christmas together in the White House.

"Theirs was a love story for the ages." Brian Mulroney reads a love letter from Ronald to Nancy Reagan. https://t.co/nITKKuog5R

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 11, 2016

James Baker, Ronald Reagan’s Chief of Staff, spoke of his daily practice of writing Nancy. ABC News reports about his description of the president’s habit of hiding love notes for her to find. Nancy saved them all in a shopping bag in her closet, Baker said. He shared that the only time he saw Nancy Reagan lose her composure was when “Ronnie” was shot. He tried to lighten the mood and comfort her by saying, “Honey, I forgot to duck.”

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Nancy Reagan’s funeral opened with the song she requested in her plans, Battle Hymn of the Republic, chosen because it was her husband’s favorite song. It ended with the singing of “Amazing Grace” followed by the bagpipes recessional and “God Bless America.”

Attendees to Ms. Reagan’s funeral included Hollywood celebrities, former presidents, politicians, and members of the media. Michelle Obama, George and Laura Bush, Caroline Kennedy, Tom Brokaw, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Diane Sawyer, John Stamos, Anjelica Houston, and Arnold Schwarzenegger were among them.

Nancy Reagan was laid to rest next to her husband of 52 years, Ronald Reagan, on the grounds of the Reagan Library.

[Photo by Chris Carlson/Associated Press]