Posted on 06/07/2004 1:41:50 AM PDT by kattracks
Nancy Reagan thanked the nation yesterday for its outpouring of prayers and admiration for her beloved husband - even as she expressed relief that his long ordeal had finally ended.The devoted widow of Ronald Reagan has been deluged by thousands of calls and letters from friends, well-wishers, world leaders and ordinary Americans.
"Mrs. Reagan and her family are deeply touched by the outpouring of sympathy from across the country and around the world," said Joanne Drake, the former President's chief of staff.
The former First Lady was preparing for a week of mourning, including a private family goodbye for her husband of 54 years on Tuesday morning and a state funeral on Friday.
"While it is an extremely sad time for Mrs. Reagan, there is definitely a sense of relief that he is no longer suffering and that he has gone to a better place," Drake said.
Brave to the end, Nancy Reagan, 82, gave no hint that her long-suffering husband was edging closer to death when she called Reagan biographer Bob Colacello last Wednesday to offer condolences on the death of his father.
But she did ask how his newly widowed mother was holding up, he told The Daily News.
"I feel for your mother," Nancy Reagan told Colacello, author of the forthcoming book "Ronnie and Nancy: The Long Climb." She told Colacello that she felt especially bad for his mom, noting the "special bond" between a husband and wife.
"She was obviously talking about herself, even though I didn't know it at the time," Colacello said. "That's the kind of person she is. As usual, she didn't let on."
It was not until Friday, the day before Ronald Reagan died, that Nancy revealed he was at death's door.
Colacello says he is worried about how Nancy Reagan will handle the grueling week, followed by the emptiness of living without her husband.
"I do worry about her," he said. "She's very strong but I'm sure it's going to be very hard."
For more than a decade, Nancy Reagan has cared for her husband as he descended deeper into the haze of Alzheimer's disease. She often woke with him in the middle of the night and rarely strayed from their California ranch for more than a day at a time.
When close friends came to visit, Nancy Reagan would tell them that he was doing "the same" or "as well as can be expected," even though the truth was that he had not been able to recognize anyone for months.
In an essay written in advance, Nancy Reagan remembered the former President as a one-of-a-kind American hero.
"I think they broke the mold when they made Ronnie," the former First Lady writes in this week's Time magazine.
She revealed that her husband was a much more religious man than many Americans knew and that he said a silent prayer whenever he took off in a plane.
"Ronnie always believed that God has a plan for each of us and that we might not know what it is now, but eventually we will," she wrote.
Ever the romantic, Ronald Reagan won Nancy over with his torrid love letters and often sent her tender notes when they were apart. But on Nancy's birthday, he had his own special way of expressing his love.
"He always sent my mother flowers to thank her for having me," Nancy Reagan recalled.
Originally published on June 7, 2004
Regardless of how strong Nancy is, she is now without the man who adored her for 54 years. Her heart is surely broken. I think after the memorials and all of the attention has died she will really need our prayers. That is when the grief will really set in. Although she will find some comfort in that her beloved is no longer suffering she will be confronted by the fact that she is now alone. We need to remember this devoted lady who our President loved so much. I believe that more than the tributes to himself he would want that. JMO.
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