in the spring of 1987, president reagan and i were driven into a large hangar at the ottawa air to awaitremonies for their return to washington following their highly successful state visit to canada president reagan and i were alone except for the security details. when their car drove in a moment later, out stepped nancy and mila, my wife, looking like a million bucks. as they headed to us, president reagan beamed. he threw his arm around my shoulder and he said with a grin, you know, brian, for two irish men we sure married up. i mention this because it reflects a unique reagan reality, she really always was on his mind. we all know of his great love and admiration for nancy and the elegant and constant manner in which he publicly expressed it. one day at the white house after another absolutely glowing tribute by president reagan to his beloved nancy, i said, privately, you know, you are going to get me and all the rest of us here in a whole lot of trouble with our wives. because we can't keep up with you. the president chuckled and looked at me with 9 irish twinkle and he said, well

she covered the reagans where the president and first lady released a statement about nancy reagan. ing about being a president or first lady or former is that it is a very small exclusive club. they all at one time or another know each other but understand what they have been through. what did the president and first lady have to say? >> reporter: this is definitely a personal reflection in their statement about the passing of mrs. reagan and adds a little dimension about what you are talking about the relationship. the president and first lady say nancy reagan once wrote that nothing could prepare you for living in the white house. she was right, of course. we had a head start because we were fortunate to benefit from her proud example and her warm and generous advice. they say our former first lady redefined the role in her time here later in her long good bye with president reagan became a voice on behalf of millions going through the reality of alzheimer's and took on a new public role as advocate on behalf of treatments that hold potential and promise to improve and save lives.

she was first lady from 1981 to 1989, during the two terms of ronald reagan's presidency. nancy reagan once said, "my life really began when i married my husband." judy woodruff has more. >> woodruff: she was at once a traditional first lady and a power player. nancy reagan said as much herself at a 1985 luncheon, shown years later in this pbs documentary. >> i see the first lady as another means to keep a president from becoming isolated. i talk to people. they tell me things. and if something is about to become a problem, i'm not above calling a staff person and asking about it. i'm a woman who loves her husband and i make no apologies for looking out for his personal and political welfare. >> woodruff: she was born anne frances robbins in new york in 1921, the only child of a salesman and an often-absent actress mother. after graduating from smith college, she became an actress herself. billed as "nancy davis," taking the last name of her adoptive father, she landed a role on broadway and then went to hollywood. there, she met ronald reagan in 1951. >> he was unlike any

vice president george bush and barbara bush writing "nancy reagan was totally devoted to president reagan and we take comfort that they will be reunited once more." jimmy carter and rosalind, who lost the white house to ronald reagan, writing, "her advocacy for stem cell research raised public awareness and influenced decision makers about vital research for alzheimer's disease." at the time running counter to republican orthodoxy. but nancy reagan knew her own mind and her heart. and both her mind and her heart were devoted to her beloved ronnie. and his legacy. a legacy that they shared at a critical moment in history and world history. lester? >> andrea mitchell tonight. thank you. >>> for more now on nancy reagan we're joined by a man who knew her well. james baker was chief of sfaf and later treasury secretary under president reagan. mr. kret, thank you for being with us and our condolences. i know your friendship with mrs. reagan was deep and long and we >> yes, it was, lester, and thank you for saying that. >> tell me what most people may not understand about nancy reagan an

ed was assistant to president reagan. judy was a reporter covering the reagan white house and howie, fox news media buzz. >> she was such an instrumental part of his life and equally as important he would never have been president, maybe not even governor without her influence. he didn't want to run again he told me after 1976 when he lost by 117 votes to gerald ford at the '76 convention. he was ready to go off and live on his ranch and what have you. she was the one that felt it was very important for him and the country and obviously it was. and she supported him totally. in 1984 after he had been shot, almost mortally wounded, their friend had been murdered, pope had been shot, she was reluctant about running for a second term. he had other health problems and at the end of the day, she gave up that request to him and said, fine, if you want to go, let's go and she went ahead. you think of the things that happened in the second term. mrs. reagan had great people instinct and great political instincts. the president und

ronald reagan, and there likely wouldn't have been a president ronald reagan without a nancy reagan.course, it may not have happened that way if she was not made of such stern stuff. she may not have made it to being mrs. ronald reagan. my dad was playing a little hard to get when they were dating way back when. he had already purchased a ranch not too far from here in malibu, and he loved to go there and ride his horses and buck hay and generally get dirty and sweaty outdoors. not the kind of thing she's crazy about, my mother. but she was a good sport and wanted to participate in this. if he loved his ranch, well, she was going to love the ranch, too. so she would go out there and he would do his thing, and he would wonder about how she could help? now this ranch in malibu is about 700 acres or so, had a long driveway that led to the house. about half a mile with fences on both sides. so they would go out there and they would hang out and be ranchers, but she wanted to help, as i said, so she asked him, what can i do to help? did i mention that the fences lining that half mile driv

reagan. she was of course first lady to her husband president ronald reagan but so much more. the death of her devotion to the president built her an unrivaled level of influence. nancy reagan died of congestive heart failure in los angeles today at the age of 94. in a statement the president and mrs. obama sent their condolences saying. nancy reagan's public journey began on the silver screen and ended in the white house. nancy davis was an actress herself when on the mgm lot in 1949. he was already a star. but though she had her own hollywood dreams she later said she found her greatest role as his wife. >> i think i was born to be married. i was the happiest girl in the world when i became we. >> reporter: they married in 1952. a simple ceremony. and even appeared together in "hellcats of the navy," the last of her 11 films. >> i began to think maybe you were playing the south sea surface. >> you knew better. >> how could i know? did you give me a post-dated check in. >> from then on by her own description her life was devoted to her husband. as mother to their two children,

nancy reagan, the widow of president ronald reagan has died. she was 94 years old. her death was announced in a statement from her spokesperson, and lester holt looks at the life of the former first lady. >> nancy davis was an actress herself when she met ronald reagan on the mgm lot in 1949. he was already a star. but though she had her own hollywood dreams, she later said she found her greatest role as his wife. >> i think i was born to be married. i was the happiest girl in the world when i became we. >> they married in 1952. a simple ceremony and even appeared together in "hellcats of the navy" the last of her 11 films. >> i began to think maybe you were playing the south seas circuit. >> you knew better. >> how could i know. did you give me a post dated check. >> from then on, by her own description, her life was devoted to her husband, as mother to their two children, patty and ron, and as stepmother to his two children by former wife jane wyman, and then came politics and her long career as a first lady. first in california to governor ronald reagan in 1966.

and she lobbied her husband, president reagan. and as a result right before reagan's re-election in september of 1984, president reagan invited the soviet foreign minister to a working lunch at the white house. and when nancy reagan received him, he bent down and whispered in her ear, he said, mrs. reagan, does your husband want peace? and she said, yes, of course. and he said, well, mrs. reagan, every night when you go to bed, whisper in his ear peace, peace, peace. she went out without a beat said i'm whispering in your ear, mr. foreign minister, peace, peace, peace. he later told that story many times but it was the first indication that the united states and president reagan personally wanted a new direction with the soviet union. >> it's an interesting story. i mean, she had an amazing influence inside that white house, and you're saying it extended to foreign affairs. >> yes, but not in a public way. not in a way that she wanted to have her own role. she played a behind-the-scenes role. mrs. reagan throughout -- especially th

reagan. talk a little bit about the post presidency. because not only -- even before ronald reagan died we had the sad long period where the effects of alzheimer's kick in. he famously wrote that letter to the public which was kind of like a good-bye letter and she was really the public face of the couple who had been president and first lady and almost by default charged with keeping that legacy alive. >> the day that came out, called mrs. reagan fully expecting to not ever reach her but just expressing my sympathies and she got on the phone and we talked for probably 20 minutes or so the day the reagan letter was released and she talked about the fact she looked so forward to being able to share the golden years and memories. you have to remember, she was the stepdaughter of a doctor who, in effect, was her father, so she had a very keen sense of medical issues and sensitivity to doctors. she was so sad about the idea that they would not be able to share these memories. that that was going to be lost and they wouldn't have those golden

she will be buried alongside president reagan at the reagan presidential library in california in simi valley. and we are outside her estate. william? >> yes, we arrived an hour ago and 10 minutes ago a hearse arrived to pick up the body of the first first lady dying some time this morning. the only vehicle we have seen enter the residence so far is that vehicle. other family members may have arrived earlier than that, we do not know. we are in bel air california where she lived since 1988 buying the estate and lived here for 30 years. she is then for the "just 10 no," campaigning and bringing glamour to the white house, an advisor to the president, known for caming the people around them, people she considered disloyal she was known as a keen judge of character born in new york city as ann tran isis robbins. and her parents divorced after. eight years mother her mother remarried a chicago physician who adopted customer she changed her name to nancy davis graduating from smith college and appeared in a dozen movies and met the president when he was head of screen actors guild. she wrot

some years after the president's death mrs. reagand "vanity fair," "i miss ronnie a lot, an awful lot. people say it gets better. no, it does not." their love explained best by the president himself, who wrote to mrs. reagan, "i'm not whole without you. you are life itself to me." that is a love story. harry smith, nbc news, new york. >> and that's nbc "nightly news" for this sunday. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you later tonight for "dateline." in the meantime, for all of us here at nbc news, good night. thank you so much. did you say honey? hey, try some? mmm that is tasty. is it real? of course... are you? nope animated you know i'm always looking for real honey for honey nut cheerios well you've come to the right place. great, mind if i have another taste? not at all mmm you're all right bud? never better i don't know if he likes that. yeah part of the complete breakfast >>> nbc bay area news begins with a microclimate weather alert. >>> a lot of flooded roads and creeks that are cresting rpgs downed power lin

she was a strong defender of president reagan's legacy. she is remembered as a force, both in public and behind the scenes at the white house. >> nancy reagan once said, quote, my life really began when i married my husband. the adoring way she looked at as the gaze. bill plante covered the reagan white house and joins us at the table. good morning to you. took her advice and got the ring. >> yes. >> good morning. >> during her lifetime, nancy reagan played a lot of roles. she was an actress, a mother, she was an advocate for alzheimer's research. but by her own account, her most important role was that ofronald reagan's wife and fierce protector. during their 52 years of marriage, nancy and ronald reagan's devotion to one another was undeniable. they met where love stories are made. hollywood. >> he! hey! >> reporter: nancy davis, then the hollywood starlet, contacted reagan who was head of the screen actors guild for help. after her name mistakenly popped up on a list of communist sympathizer. >> at that point, i just wanted to meet ronal

reagan. and there likely wouldn't have been a president ronald reagan without a nancy reagan. not have made it to being mrs. ronald reagan. my dad would play hard to get a little bit when they were dating, way back when. he had already purchased a ranch, not too far from here, in malibu, and he loved to go there and ride his horses and buck hay and generally get dirty and sweaty outdoors and that sort of thing. not the kind of thing she is really crazy about, my mother. but she was a good sport. and she wanted to participate in this. if he loved his ranch, well, she was going to love the ranch, too. and so she would go out there and they would -- he would do his thing and she would wonder about how she could help. now, this ranch, in malibu, 700 acres, had a long driveway had led to the house, half mile. fences on both sides. so, they would go out there and they would hang out and be ranchers, but she wanted to help and she asked him, what can i do to help? did i mention that the fences lining that half mile driveway were unpainted? so he handed her a bucket of paint and a bru

and the young soldier salute president reagan and reagan saluted him back. and then the soldier went back to the car. said to me, is it okay if i still salute? and i said, mr. president, don't ever stop. and nancy was just standing there beaming and smiling. so she was a presence. she really completed the man. >> what was it about him, colin? >> charlie, you know, you know him as well as i did. with president reagan, you always had someone who had a clear set of goals. he knew what he wanted. communism is bad, we are good. if only i can get gorbachev to come out and see my ranch in california, all will be well. he so believed in america and created an image of america, that shining city on the hill that touched all americans but touched our foreign allies as well. even though some might say that margaret thatcher or others knew more than president reagan or gorbachev had greater control of detail. president reagan had us on his staff with the detail. the spirit of america and that is what touched all of those foreign leaders. he was a remarkable man but i was

rid of them. >> reporter: she even helped the president find the right words. >> doing everything we can. >> doing everything we can. >> reporter: when reagan was presidency -- she became even more protective of her husband. >> i was a very good worrier. >> did he know how much you worried? >> i think so. >> reporter: away from the security and policy concerns, nancy reagan also famously brought hollywood elegance and moxie to the role of first lady. our love is here to stay >> reporter: although she was criticized for her extravagance, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on fancy new white house china. >> what will you do when someone offers you do? >> just say no! >> reporter: as first lady she also made a mark with her advocacy on key issues. her signature cause, the just say no campaign aimed at fighting alcohol and drug abuse. and when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she decided to share her struggle publicly. kind of life i lead and keep the schedule that i do having radiation or chemotherapy. there would be no way. >> reporter: but it was a health issue involving her husband that would consume much of her life after the w

former president reagan, nancy reagan was a mentor to him. >> she was just very encouraging. keep working hard. >> nancy reagan died inside of her los angeles home on sunday from congestive heart failure. and 94 years old. nancy reagan left quite a leggancy. she an influence on her husband who battled alzheimer's disease. then became an advocate. >> a great loss. aclassy first lady. >> now, nancy reagan and the former president reagan married for more than 50 years. she will be buried next to him at the former president reagan library. mikea turner, wusa 9. >>> time to check in with our partners at "cbs this morning." >> good morning. nora. >> hey, good morning to you. mike and andrea. ahead, tributes for first lady nancy reagan. and her influence in the white house and her lat -- lasting legacy. plus a new -- investigation into donald trump university. and also, holly williams and the cbs crew caught in the chaos in iraq when kurdish fighters open fire. and the ceo of bumble where women make the first move. the news is back in we'll see you guys at 7:00. >> all right. thank

it was this moment, nancy reagan kissing the coffin of former president ronald reagan, that crystallized the love story that formed the super piece of her adult life. >> if a death can be peaceceful and lovely, that one was. >> reporter: it was a love story that played out in the public eye for more than half a century. and ranged from hollywood to the white house. >> how do you keep the romance in a marriage? >> i think it used to be that one of you thought that it had to be -- everything had to be your way. or 50/50. it isn't always 50/50. >> what is it? >> sometimes it's 90/10. and you have to be willing to give the 90. or he has to be willing to give the 90. but it's something you want to do. wonderful for a man than to approach his own doorstep knowing that someone on the other side of the door is listening for the sound of his footsteps. >> reporter: they met in the early '50s when they were both movie stars. >> how do you know so much about the moon? >> i know a lot about it. spend all my time looking at it when you're away. >> reporter: after they got married, nancy, a graduate o

reagan. and there likely wouldn't have been a president ronald reagan without a nancy reagan.e it all the way to being mrs. ronald reagan. my dad played hard to get a little bit when they were dating way back when. he had already purchased a ranch not too far from here in malibu, and he loved to go there and ride his horses and buck hay and generally get dirty and sweaty outdoors, that sort of thing. not the kind of thing she's really crazy about, my mother, but she was a good sport, and she wanted to participate in this. if he loved his ranch, well, she was going to love the ranch, too. they would go out there and he would do his thing and she would wonder how she could help. this ranch in malibu is about 7,000 acres or so. it had a long ways with fences on both sides. they would go out there and hang out and be ranchers. but she wanted to help out. did i mention that the fences lining that half-mile driveway were unpainted? so he handed her a bucket of paint and a brush, and my mother painted a mile's worth of fence. every post, every plank, both sid sides. that paint job la

ken duber dean served on president reagan's staff. he joins me on the phone as we continue with the coverage of the passing of former first lady nancy reagan. ken w when you think about your experience with her, what comes to mind? is it a kindness, graciousness, that she could become a for midn't foe or worse she could love ronny? >> ken, it's alex witt. can you hear me? >> i can hear you. >> the question is what comes first to mind? is it about personality. her kindful or others. oer as we heard she would be a very formidable foe if you came up against her or her husband. >> the first thing that comes to mind is the love affair between ron and and nancy reagan. wit as true partnership, a true love affair. they were better together than separately. they reinforced each other. nancy brought an elegance, dignity, class to the white house. we always wore a tie and jacket before we walked into the oval office. everything was spot perfect. you had to look good, speak well. vulgarity was out. you had everything on the up and up when it came

reagan. talk a little bit about the post presidency. use not only -- even before ronald reagan died we had the sad long period where the effects of alzheimer's kick in. he famously wrote that letter to the public which was kind of like a good-bye letter and she was really the public face of the couple who had been president and first lady and almost by default charged with keeping that legacy alive. >> the day that came out, called mrs. reagan fully expecting to not ever reach her but just expressing my sympathies and she got on the phone and we talked for probably 20 minutes or so the day the reagan letter was released and she talked

president reagan was famous for his smile and nancy was usually the reason he was smiling. ring her husband's presidency and the difficult years that followed nancy reagan was a rock of strength and unconditional love and a leader in her own rite. one of the great privileges of my days in the house leadership was opportunity to escort mrs. reagan at unveiling of the statue of her late husband. i witnessed that day the love she felt for america and all she and president reagan had sacrificed to achieve during years of public service made a profound impression on me that i carried through the rest of my time in office. in reflecting on the number of statements we have seen from leaders past and present here in washington and around the country both republicans and many democrats you get the sense of honoring her service and dignity in which she carried herself and strength conveyed to many families suffering with illnesses not always understood and are not plent to go through. she gave a certain err of calm in dealing with what had to have been a very tough several years of al

sun credits president reagan's wife for setting the foundation for what first ladies could do for the county's image -- even after the powerful couple left the white house. when ronald reagan was diagnosed with alzheimer's disease in 1994 and died a decade later --- she became a spokesperson for her husband's ideas and legng sun/ univassociate science 8:15-21 "i t offer professor sun said because of that trip to china in 1984 -- nancy reagan is nearly as famous as president reagan there to this day. mrs. reagan will be buried next to her husband at the ronald reagan presidential library in simi valley california. the day of the that many adults use to ward off stress. and, now, kids are doing the same. 9news reporter tarhonda thomas is here with more. tarhonda-- lots of parents are worried about their kids being too "stressed out" that's right. i did a story about "kids and stress" a few months ago. and, since then, i've heard from a few parents on how they're helping their kids relieve stress. a method created centuries ago... and experts are now realizing the power it holds to de- s

she thought ronald reagan was an american president. , ronald regulagan vot for franklin roosevelt four times. he used to be a democrat. while the right in america celebrates him almost like a patron saint, nancy reagan said my husband represented all american people not just republicans. she was very keen on that. they were trying to take franklin roosevelt's face off the dime and put ronald reagan on it. she was outraged by that. she said my husband would never want to see fdr's face taken off a dime. there was a side of her about america, that both of them saw themselves as champions of america, not just the republican party. >> they met when he was president of a union, president of the screen actors guild. and there was a different nancy davis who was in hot water because of the house on american activities committee in congress looking for communists all over the country, especially in hollywood, in some cases. and that's when she met the man who would become the love of her life. >> well, that's right, jake. and she wasn't just in

and from president reagan's marriage to jane wyman, michael and maureen. on their 20th anniversary, he was governor, she, first lady of california, and he wrote to her, being without you. >> i, ronald reagan, do solemnly swear -- >> reporter: she was at his side as he was sworn in as the 40th president in 1981. nancy reagan famously brought her style and some hollywood flair to the white house. those legendary state dinners. president reagan cutting in on a dance with the first lady and frank sinatra. they were a team, she was fiercely protective. running to her husband's side when he was shot nearly two months into his presidency. later, writing in his diary about the moment he woke up in the hospital after being shot. i opened my eyes once to find nancy there. i pray i'll never face a day when she isn't there. of all the ways god has blessed me, giving her to me is the greatest and beyond anything i can ever hope to deserve. after the shooting, the first lady sometimes clashing with his top aides. accused of controlling her husband at times, and there was