Young America’s Foundation, which preserves the Reagan Ranch in the Santa Ynez mountains in California, released a touching tribute to First Lady Nancy Reagan, who passed on today.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKRZzvtFQw0]
In their statement, Young America’s Foundation said:
Frank Donatelli, who is the Chairman of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors and served as President Reagan’s Political Director, said, “Nancy Reagan was essential to all of Ronald Reagan’s accomplishments. She saw his true potential and encouraged his entry into elective politics.”
John Barletta, who was on the President’s Secret Service detail, said, “My bond with Mrs. Reagan was sealed a few months after I began riding with President Reagan as part of his Secret Service detail. I could instantly see that the two of them were very much in love. Mrs. Reagan adored him. She learned to ride because she wanted to be with him. They were so completely devoted to each other that at times I felt like I was coming between them during our rides, but she also told me that my riding with the President made him happier, and, of course, that made her ecstatic.”
The Reagan Ranch, which the Reagans named Rancho Del Cielo, is preserved exactly the way Nancy Reagan left it, and for anyone who admires the Reagans, it is a must-see memorial to their humility and passion.
