Nancy Reagan, the helpmate, backstage adviser, and fierce protector of Ronald Reagan died March 6 at her home in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles of congestive heart failure. She was 94.
Her best-known project as first lady was the Just Say No campaign to help children and teens stay off drugs.
When she swept into the White House in 1981, the former Hollywood actress partial to designer gowns and pricey china was widely dismissed as a pre-feminist throwback, concerned only with fashion, decorating, and entertaining. By the time she moved out eight years later, Mrs. Reagan was fending off accusations that she was a behind-the-scenes “dragon lady” wielding unchecked power over the Reagan administration—and doing it based on astrology to boot.
All along
