Nancy Reagan died this week at the age of 94. She will be buried next to her husband outside of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
As a first lady, she had many memorable moments including her "Just Say No" drug campaign and her outstanding fashion statements. All in all, she was one of the most impressionable and classy first ladies in American history.
One thing that she made evident during her lifetime was her love for the actor that she met on a blind date in 1949, Ronald Reagan. She and her husband, "Ronnie" would've celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary on March 4.
Their love for each other was inconceivable. Nancy wrote one of my favorite books in 2000 that was dedicated to him about the love letters that he wrote to her. He wrote the letters from when they first met to when he succumbed to Alzheimer's in 2004. Pictures of handwritten letters that he wrote are scattered throughout each section of the book along with an explanation from her of what was going on in their lives during the time of the note.
"As I reread Ronnie's letters to me recently, getting ready to donate them to the Ronald Reagan Library, I realized in a new way how very special they are. I'd always intended them for the library, believing them to be of value to historians seeking to learn more about a former president. And yet as I read them once again, fishing around in the shopping bag I kept them in and pulling them out one after another, remembering and enjoying Ronnie's humor and style, his presence and his love, I was struck by how much they say about him — not just as a president, but as a man. And about us, the love we shared. The letters took me back in time, to different moments of the life that Ronnie and I shared for almost fifty years. And, once more, they brought Ronnie back to me, in his own words," Nancy Reagan, "I Love You, Ronnie."
In order to highlight the best parts of the book and their life together, and to ultimately get you to pop over to Amazon and order this gem (trust me, you won't be disappointed. I own two copies myself), here are some of the best quotes from letters in the book that should give you a good sense of why they may have been the best presidential couple of all time:
"What do you know? It's Tuesday in Albuquerque, and I'm in love with you."
"It's time to move on to the next town and every move is a step toward home and you. I love you so very much I don't even mind that life made me wait so long to find you. The waiting only made the finding sweeter."
"I find myself hating these people for keeping us apart. Please be real careful because you carry my life with you every second. Maybe we should build at the farm so we could surround the place with high barb wire and booby traps and shoot anyone who even suggests one of us go to the corner store without the other."
"Happy Birthday Mommie!...Anyway (again) please keep on having birthdays because I wouldn't know what to do without you. I think that's because I love you so much. P.S. I truly do love you — mucher than that."
"My Darling First Lady, I'm looking at you as you lie here beside me on this fifteenth anniversary and wondering why everyone has only just discovered you are the First Lady. You've been the First — in fact the only — to me for fifteen years. I love you so much and so much more each day."
"You are Mrs. Reagan because Mr. Reagan loves you with all his heart... Mr. Reagan is head over heals in love with Mrs. Reagan and can't even imagine a world without her."
Dear Mrs. Reagan,
Your loving, faithful devotion has been observed these 19 (some say 20) years. There are no words to describe the happiness you have brought to the Gov. It is no secret that he is the most married man in the world and would be totally lost and desolate without you.
It seemed to me you should know this and be aware of how essential you are in this man's life. By his own admission, he is completely in love with you and happier than even a Gov. deserves.
With Love & Appreciation
- Your In Luv Guv.
Photos courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
