Posted on 06/08/2004 6:11:10 AM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
Pallbearers from all armed services carry Ronald Reagan's coffin from funeral home in Santa Monica, Calif., for trip 40 miles north to Simi Valley, where it lies in state in presidential library before trip to Washington tomorrow.
Nancy Reagan is consoled by Rev. Wenning after a brief private service with her family near the casket of former President Ronald Reagan before the public viewing period begins at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., Monday, June 7, 2004. The remains will lie in repose through Tuesday evening. Ronald Reagan's fragile widow rested her head on her husband's flag-draped coffin and whispered, "I can't believe it" as she gave in to her grief.
Her tears flowed yesterday after she emerged for the first time since the former President's death to begin a week-long farewell.
And as Nancy Reagan publicly showed her heartbreak, details of her final private moment with the love of her life were revealed last night as one of deep sorrow and miraculous surprise.
The former First Lady believes her long-suffering husband recognized her when he stared into her eyes for an instant before taking his last breath, his daughter Patti Davis writes.
"It was the greatest gift he could have given me," the former First Lady told her family.
Sobbing, shaking and knowing death was imminent, she held her husband's hand about 1 p.m. Saturday as he inhaled deeply and opened his eyes for the first time in five days.
While most thought Alzheimer's disease had robbed former President Reagan of all his memory, the last look he gave his wife was one of deep acknowledgment, Davis writes for People magazine in its upcoming edition.
"At the last moment when his breathing told us this was it, he opened his eyes and looked straight at my mother. Eyes that had not opened for days did, and they weren't chalky or vague," Davis recalls. "They were clear and blue and full of life. If a death can be lovely, his was."
Davis and her brother Ron were standing next to their father's bed when the astonishing interchange between their parents took place.
"In his last moment he taught me that there is nothing stronger than love between two people, two souls," Davis writes. "It was the last thing he could do to show my mother how entwined their souls are and it was everything."
The former President died just before Michael Reagan entered his father's room, but he said the look on Nancy Reagan's face revealed she had been given a gift even as she began to mourn her loss.
"His last earthy look was at his wife, his next look was at the face of God," Michael Reagan told People.
The Reagans' personal physician, Dr. John Hutton, could not rule out the possibility that Ronald Reagan recognized his wife of 52 years just before he died.
"Whereas one could not explain it on any medical or physiological terms, I think there must be something to this," Hutton said last night on MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann."
"It's something that if you believe in it, you should take great joy and happiness in your belief," he said, adding that such moments have more to do with "the belief of people and their faith."
While her husband's last look lessened the blow of his passing, all the world still witnessed Nancy Reagan's heartbreak as she rested her head on her husband's coffin in yesterday's ceremony at the Reagan Presidential Library in California.
As the tears she initially held back flowed, Davis, her once estranged daughter, took her into her arms.
"He's here," Davis appeared to say.
It was the emotional climax of the wrenching first day of public goodbyes to the 40th President.
Nancy Reagan's grace amid grief awed the mourners who streamed into the rotunda of the library to pay their respects.
"What a great wife," said Manuela Campos of Santa Monica, Calif. "She was totally devoted to him."
The first lap of the former President's state funeral - a journey that culminates with a service Friday at the National Cathedral in Washington, followed by burial back home in California - began just after dawn.
About 500 mourners, some clad in black, others with tears in their eyes, gathered in front of the Gates Kingsley & Gates Funeral Home in Santa Monica.
They waited patiently behind barricades for Nancy Reagan's motorcade to arrive while TV mogul Merv Griffin and Reagan Foundation Chairman Frederick Ryan, asked by the former First Lady to serve as pallbearers, stood in front. Reagan's limousine pulled up at 9:30a.m., and she was greeted with loud applause.
Clad in black instead of her favorite red and wearing pearls, the first steps of the 82-year-old widow appeared unsteady, and Ron and Patti quickly came to help her. Their mom then insisted on stopping to look at the makeshift shrine of flowers, flags and jellybean jars that had sprung up in front of the mortuary.
At one point, she was handed one of the notes and a faint smile creased her face as she read it.
The Reagan clan did not linger long in the funeral home. A few minutes after they stepped outside, an honor guard carried the coffin to a waiting black hearse.
Nancy Reagan was escorted by Army Maj. Gen. Galen Jackman, who continued in that roll the rest of the day.
As she climbed inside her limo, she acknowledged the crowd with a wave that drew wild applause.
"Nancy is an amazing lady," said Kris Brahms of Van Nuys, Calif. "She knew how much the country loved him and admired him. To see her looking at all those flowers, you could tell it was a great comfort to her."
"It was very heartwarming to see Nancy respond to the crowds," added Rona Attwater of Santa Monica. "I'm so moved."
On the 40-mile drive north of Los Angeles to the library in Simi Valley, the hearse passed beneath an enormous American flag suspended by two fire department ladder trucks.
During the moving 15-minute service at the rotunda, Reagan stared at the coffin as Patti clutched her hand.
"Grant, Lord God, that our hearts will be deeply moved and touched by the wonderful memories of this very special human being," said the Rev. Michael Wenning of the Bel Air Presbyterian Church, near the Reagans' longtime home.
"Thank you for the partnership that he and Nancy had shared together, for the wonderful example that they had been to all of us in the nation," he added.
As she smoothed the flag on the coffin with her hands, Wenning and Ron Reagan took turns embracing her while the ex-President's son Michael, whom Reagan adopted with first wife, Jane Wyman, stood nearby.
"I'm the luckiest person on the face of this planet because he chose me to be a member of his family," Michael Reagan said later on his radio show.
When they were gone, a military guard of honor, comprising representatives of all the services, mounted a solemn watch at each corner of the platform bearing the coffin. Among the many who waited in line to say farewell was another actor-turned-politician, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and his wife, Maria Shriver.
Welcome. We are glad that you are here. Wish you had gotten here sooner.
Your post was wonderful.
Dear Mrs. Reagan
And you are Mrs. Reagan because Mr. Reagan loves you with all his heart. Every time Mr. Reagan sees the evening star or blows out the birthday candles or gets the big end of the wishbone he thinks the same wish—a prayer really—that so much happiness will go on and somehow be deserved by him.
It is true sometimes that Mr. Reagan loses his temper and slams a door but that's because he can't cry or stamp his foot—(he isn't really the type.) But mad or glad Mr. Reagan is head over heels in love with Mrs. Reagan and can't even imagine a world without her—
He loves her
Mr. Reagan
"I believe that acknowledging look from Reagan was the "proof" (for us humans of faith) that Reagan was healed. That he has been restored."
Thank you, that had not occurred to me as a proof of what I have always believed happens.
bttt
This thread has turned into a real blessing. Not only can we give thanks for the life of Ronald Reagan, we've also turned the opportunity into a chance to give thanks to a wonderful, merciful, and loving God.
" . . . For love is as strong as death . . . "
Song of Solomon 8:6c
That is absolutely true. They ridiculed her constantly, everything about her was criticized ... her petite size 4 figure, the designer clothes, her selection of new, elegant White House china purchased entirely through private contributions, the Just Say No campaign, her concerns for his safety after the assasination attempt, nothing about her escaped the ire of the leftish, including her devotion to and love for her husband.
My mother died of Alzheimer's the same way the President did and she, too opened her eyes just before passing on. I think it is a reflex when the heart loses it's rhythm and skips beats. But I can surely see how Nancy could gain satisfaction from having him look at her at the last.
I'm not at all surprised that he said good-bye to Nancy.
My mom died of cancer almost 19 years ago (still can't believe it) In the month before she died, the cancer was affecting her brain & she no longer recognized my father, me or her beloved grandsons. But when the ambulance came to transport her to Hospice, she turned to my father and in a lucid moment told him "I talked to Ya-Ya (my grandmother, her mother) last night and everyrhing is going to be okay." My father knew at that moment that she was very near the end. She died about 28 hours later.
I lost my mother for the last month of her life, I can't imagine the pain of those who lose their loved ones for years.
God Bless the Reagan family
I had those same feelings when my grandfather passed on when I was 14 years old.
As always, thanks for the ping Mo1.
One family I know had lost a teenaged son a few years back in an auto accident. When his grandmother was on the point of death, she opened her eyes, looked at the foot of her bed and told her daughter that Tim was standing there, so she knew she was all right. Tim's mother knew he was bringing his grandmother home.
bttt
"Thank you for the partnership that he and Nancy had shared together, for the wonderful example that they had been to all of us in the nation," he added.
fyi
beautiful. thx.
Thanks for the ping.
What a beautiful gift for her and the family.
Beautiful first post, backinthefold. Welcome to FR! Glad you found this website too. (I have to tell you it's not always this "warm & fuzzy" though.) :o)
My grandmother said she saw an angel coming for her hours before she died. A week before he passed away, my father told us he grasped a baby's hand that reached out to take him home but he had not seen all of his kids yet and waited to die until he had. (The family always believed the baby that reached out for him was the child who was miscarried by one of my sisters.)
One of my uncles who died at home surrounded by his family had been in a near-coma but awoke and smiled at all of them moments before he took his last breath. There are lots of stories of experiences that surround death. I think it is a gift from God and I am glad that Nancy Reagan was so blessed.
Splain this then: My father collected antiques and historical memorabilia. He had about 10 antique clocks (that used to chime and bong just a few seconds apart and admittedly was sometimes very annoying). We returned home from the hospital after he died and discovered that 3 of his clocks had stopped at 9:38PM...listed as Time of Death on his death certificate. I guess the clocks lost their rhythm?
Glad you liked the tagline and glad you got home to see your dad one last time. Just FYI, the tagline was inspired by Pres. Reagan's 1992 (I think) RNC Keynote address in which he said "The other party's nominee said that he is the new Thomas Jefferson. Well, let me tell you something, Governor. I knew Thomas Jefferson. I was friends with Thomas Jefferson. Governor, you are no Thomas Jefferson."
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