Catholics & Catholicism

Question:

Maureen Reagan Mourned at Service 08/18/01 SACRAMENTO – Maureen Reagan, daughter of the former president, was praised Saturday by people arriving for her funeral as a tireless crusader against Alzheimer’s disease. "I don’t know of anybody who in such a short amount of time has brought so much awareness to Alzheimer’s," said Orien Reid, who chairs the Alzheimer’s Association’s board of directors. "I think it was the love for her dad that drove her." Ms. Reagan’s mother, Jane Wyman, arrived an hour before the service. Stepmother Nancy Reagan arrived later, holding hands with Ms. Reagan’s half-sister, Patti Reagan. Her father, Ronald Reagan, was not expected to attend. The 90-year-old former president, who is stricken with Alzheimer’s disease, was to stay behind at his Bel-Air home. "He would be confused. With what he’s got going on in his own life, attending would do more harm," son Michael Reagan said last week. Ms. Reagan’s maple casket, decorated with a spray of pink roses and white mums, was borne by Secret Service agents into the 112-year-old Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The agents all had been assigned to Ms. Reagan at one point. Reagan’s sons Michael and Ron were expected to offer prayers of intercession during the Roman Catholic services. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman, California Gov. Gray Davis and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., were expected to speak. Ms. Reagan, 60, died Aug. 8 at her Granite Bay home after a nine-month battle with skin cancer that progressed from a melanoma diagnosis in 1996 to tumors in her hip and brain. The former president’s first child, Ms. Reagan traveled the nation nearly nonstop in the final years of her life, ignoring her own declining health as she spread the word about Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers. Ms. Reagan co-chaired the Republican National Committee from 1987 to 1989 and twice sought public office herself. She lost a primary election bid for a U.S. Senate seat from California in 1982 and finished second in a 1992 Republican primary for a California congressional seat. An outspoken feminist, Ms. Reagan sometimes clashed with her father over abortion rights and an equal rights amendment to the Constitution. But despite their disagreements, they were remembered as fiercely loyal to one another. Ms. Reagan became a national spokeswoman for the Alzheimer’s Association after her father announced in 1994 that he had the disease.

Response:

Thanks for this Nightwing, heard about it on the News, Today, if we all we’re public fighters, instead, of hiding, this horrtble disease would be much more understood, darlene

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Maureen Reagan Mourned at Service 08/18/01 SACRAMENTO – Maureen Reagan, daughter of the former president, was praised Saturday by people arriving for her funeral as a tireless crusader against Alzheimer’s disease. "I don’t know of anybody who in such a short amount of time has brought so much awareness to Alzheimer’s," said Orien Reid, who chairs the Alzheimer’s Association’s board of directors. "I think it was the love for her dad that drove her." Ms. Reagan’s mother, Jane Wyman, arrived an hour before the service. Stepmother Nancy Reagan arrived later, holding hands with Ms. Reagan’s half-sister, Patti Reagan. Her father, Ronald Reagan, was not expected to attend. The 90-year-old former president, who is stricken with Alzheimer’s disease, was to stay behind at his Bel-Air home. "He would be confused. With what he’s got going on in his own life, attending would do more harm," son Michael Reagan said last week. Ms. Reagan’s maple casket, decorated with a spray of pink roses and white mums, was borne by Secret Service agents into the 112-year-old Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The agents all had been assigned to Ms. Reagan at one point. Reagan’s sons Michael and Ron were expected to offer prayers of intercession during the Roman Catholic services. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman, California Gov. Gray Davis and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., were expected to speak. Ms. Reagan, 60, died Aug. 8 at her Granite Bay home after a nine-month battle with skin cancer that progressed from a melanoma diagnosis in 1996 to tumors in her hip and brain. The former president’s first child, Ms. Reagan traveled the nation nearly nonstop in the final years of her life, ignoring her own declining health as she spread the word about Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers. Ms. Reagan co-chaired the Republican National Committee from 1987 to 1989 and twice sought public office herself. She lost a primary election bid for a U.S. Senate seat from California in 1982 and finished second in a 1992 Republican primary for a California congressional seat. An outspoken feminist, Ms. Reagan sometimes clashed with her father over abortion rights and an equal rights amendment to the Constitution. But despite their disagreements, they were remembered as fiercely loyal to one another. Ms. Reagan became a national spokeswoman for the Alzheimer’s Association after her father announced in 1994 that he had the disease.

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