Former first lady Nancy Reagan, who passed away in her Bel Air home Sunday, often visited San Diego.
“[I] started reflecting back to the times we had been with her and what a wonderful woman she was and how lucky she was to have found Ronald Reagan and vice versa,” Kim Fletcher a local man who contributed to many of their campaigns told NBC 7.
Fletcher remembered the countless times Nancy had stood by her husband’s side from local campaign fundraisers to his final stages of Alzheimer’s.
“Many times if Reagan wasn't right on the spot with the answer, Nancy would fill in and help,” Fletcher explained.
Just weeks after her husband's death in 2004, Mrs. Reagan greeted sailors at Naval Air Station North Island when USS Ronald Reagan home-ported in San Diego for the first time.
“I know how proud he was for having this ship named after him and in my heart I know he's looking down on us today and smiling,” she told sailors at the time.
Kim Fletcher said he will always remember her as a first lady fiercely loyal to her President and her country.
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“I think she will be well remembered and I hope we have more women like her,” he said.
In a statement Capt. Christopher Bolt, Commanding Officer of the USS Ronald Reagan said:
"Today, the crew of USS Ronald Reagan, CVN-76, takes a pause to remember a tremendous First Lady. Mrs. Nancy Reagan represents the best our nation and the world can offer, commitment to high ideals and an undying love and support to her husband for so many years. We rejoice that the great love affair between President and Mrs. Reagan can continue now forever in heaven. She will remain a symbol of grace, love and devotion to her President and her nation."
“She welcomed me on my first day in command with a personal letter of congratulations. I was inspired by her elegance and heartfelt style. She continued to keep in touch with the crew of ‘her ship’ during the last two and a half years during my time as CO. She personally corresponded with all the Commanding Officers of USS Ronald Reagan."
"I will keep and cherish her letters to me. She was the commissioning sponsor of USS Ronald Reagan. And grounded in Navy tradition, she decorated the Captain’s in-port cabin and designed it based on her favorite room at the White House. It is an elegant room that is clearly identifiable as being Nancy Reagan. We will be reminded of her often as we show this room to visiting dignitaries, and as each Captain works here when not out to sea. She is a great lady who will be missed. Our condolences go out to the Reagan family, but our prayers are for joy that she is now reunited with the love of her life. They made a terrific team.”
