Regional Notables Reflect On Life Of Former First Lady Nancy Reagan
BOSTON (CBS) -- Regional political notables are mourning the passing of former first lady Nancy Reagan.
The former Hollywood actress and wife of president Ronald Reagan died Sunday at age 94 of congestive heart failure.
Former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown tweeted a memory of the former first lady and sat down with WBZ-TV's Jim Smith at his New Hampshire home.
"A great loss she's just a classy lady," Brown told WBZ-TV.
Mrs. Reagan had invited Brown to give the keynote speech at the 100th birthday memorial for her husband five years ago. She also supported Brown in his political career.
"She appreciated the independence and me being an outsider and fighting the good fight all the time, obviously being from Massachusetts which back then was 11 percent enrollment of republicans," he said.
Brown remembered a kind woman, deeply devoted to her husband.
"She's obviously going to go and be with him now; it's been a long separation for her," he said.
Former Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney also offered his condolences.
"With the passing of Nancy Reagan, we say a final goodbye to the days of Ronald Reagan. With charm, grace, and a passion for America, this couple reminded us of the greatness and the endurance of the American experiment. Some underestimate the influence of a First Lady but from Martha and Abigail through Nancy and beyond, these women have shaped policy, strengthened resolve, and drawn on our better angels. God and Ronnie have finally welcomed a choice soul home," Romney said in a public statement.
Secretary of State John Kerry called Mrs. Reagan, "one of our country's greatest optimists."
Teresa came to know Nancy as they worked together on issues involving Soviet Jewry, and I am grateful for the time I spent with her and her son Ron Jr. during my 2004 presidential campaign," Kerry said in a public statement. "I will always remember our visit at her husband's library in beautiful Simi Valley, and later watching the respect shown by former members of his Secret Service detail paying their condolences in Washington's Capitol Rotunda."
