Ronald Reagan's loved ones gathered
for the final farewell to the man whose last years
truly were a long goodbye.
When Reagan left his presidency in 1989,
he seemed as ageless as ever.
In 1992, he wowed the Republican convention
with a speech rich in humor.
It's true, a lot of Liberal Democrats
are saying it's time for a change.
And they're right.
The only trouble is they're pointing
to the wrong end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Which is why the world was stunned to learn
in November of 1994 that Ronald Reagan
was suffering from Alzheimer's Disease,
and they learned it from the most reliable source of all,
the former President himself.
James Spada is the author of Ronald Reagan:
His Life in Pictures.
It was a totally lucid letter, you know.
He obviously was not advanced
in the Alzheimer's at that point.
Soon, the toll the disease was taking
became more and more evident.
There's a very, very sad story about
a visitor going to see him.
They gave him a model of the White House,
and he looked down on it,
and he was very puzzled, and he said,
"I know this place has some importance in my life,
but I can't remember what it was."
Suddenly, Ronald Reagan became
a very private citizen, spending most of his time
at his Los Angeles home
under the watchful and loving eye of his wife, Nancy.
But now and then, there was a flash
of the old Reagan magic.
I definitely felt a sense of greatness
when I was standing next to this man.
Rostik Denenburg will never forget
his encounter with the former President,
immortalized in this picture.
It's one of the last public photos of Ronald Reagan,
taken in a Los Angeles park in 1997.
It seemed that he was a very charming person.
Obviously he was suffering from Alzheimer's at the time.
However, he was coherent.
Early in 2001, the 89-year-old Reagan
was hospitalized with a broken hip.
Ironically, his daughter Maureen was in another hospital
right across the street for treatment
of a melanoma condition that would later
prove fatal for her at age 60.
I don't think Ronald Reagan was aware
that his daughter had died.
Such was the toll the disease had taken.
In a 60 Minutes II interview two years ago,
Mike Wallace asked Nancy Reagan
a difficult question about her husband.
Do you think he knows you still?
I don't know.
(dramatic music)
His son, Michael Reagan,
was there for the final farewell,
along with Nancy and her children, Ron and Patti.
Just before he died, he opened his eyes,
and he looked into Nancy's eyes, and then he passed away.
And she said that was the greatest gift
you could ever have given me.
This was Nancy Reagan's simple
and moving farewell to the man she adored for 52 years,
a final kiss.
It was a poignant moment in a day filled
with emotion and somber pageantry,
as America came to a virtual standstill
to mark the passing of the 40th President.
A cannon roared, and Nancy Reagan watched stoically
as the President's coffin was brought out
of the Capitol Rotunda, where it had lain in state.
Inside Washington's majestic National Cathedral,
there was an unprecedented gathering
of American and global leaders past and present,
including old allies, former adversaries,
and former Presidents sitting together.
(solemn music)
The coffin was brought into the cathedral
amid haunting strains, but came down the aisle in silence.
Nancy, looking somber but dignified,
sat with her family in the front pew,
across the aisle from President Bush.
The funeral rites rang out across
New York's Times Square, as well as in
millions of homes across America.
President George Herbert Bush's voice choked with emotion
as he recalled his predecessor and friend.
As his Vice President for eight years,
I learned more from Ronald Reagan
than from anyone I encountered
in all my years of public life.
But he also recalled the President's humor.
When asked how did your visit go with Bishop Tutu?
He replied, so-so.
(laughter)
And President George W. Bush,
spoke of Ronald and Nancy's undying love.
America honors you Nancy, for the loyalty
and love you gave this man on a wonderful journey.
♪ Amazing grace ♪
♪ How sweet ♪
♪ The sound ♪
Irish tenor Ronan Tynan
sang the classic inspirational hymn,
an echo of Reagan's Irish roots.
It was an emotional moment for Nancy
as her husband's coffin was brought back down the aisle,
and so Ronald Reagan began his final journey
to the Presidential Library in California.
Stacey Golandi is there.
At the same time the state funeral
was taking place in Washington D.C.,
final preparations were being made
right here behind me at the Reagan Presidential Library,
the former President's final resting place.
He chose this place because of its location.
The grave site overlooks the rolling hills of the valley,
all the way out to the Pacific Ocean.
The President left Washington for the last time
as the plane carrying his body flew west
toward a final sunset.
(orchestral music)
What struck you first was the majesty of it all,
the music by the U.S. Marine Chamber Orchestra,
the incredible collection of people,
heads of state, and stars, all of them
brought together by Ronald Reagan,
men like Mikhail Gorbachev, with whom Ronald Reagan
helped change the political landscape of planet Earth,
women like Baroness Margaret Thatcher,
who was his staunchest ally in making those changes.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
gave one of the eulogies.
His wife Mila told me that he'd practiced it a few times
so he wouldn't choke up when he delivered it today,
a trick he learned from Ronald Reagan himself.
My seat was on the upper right part of the cathedral,
in the same section as other of Mrs. Reagan's friends
and colleagues of the late President.
It was incredibly sad as the President's casket
was brought down the center aisle of the cathedral.
Different members of the congregation saluted
or placed their hands over their heart,
and then Nancy Reagan came by,
her eyes so filled with sorrow,
a little bit teary, but mostly just so sad
that her husband was gone.
She looked me in the eye as she passed,
she looked at Joan Rivers standing behind me
and said thank you for being here.
And behind her was the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles,
who also had tears in his eyes,
clearly moved by the service.
He'd obviously been crying as it drew to a close.
It was, I'm sure, a great comfort to Mrs. Reagan
that he came all the way from London
to be a part of the send-off.
I think my main thought as the service ended,
and I don't think I was alone in this,
was I had a chance to be a part of history,
and to be there as the closing of one
very important chapter in this nation's history
was officially made.