To view our online photo memorial to Ronald Reagan, please click here.Former 40th President of the United States, Ronald Wilson Reagan, 93, passed away on Saturday afternoon June 5th, 2004 at his Bel Air home in Los Angeles, CA. after a prolonged battle with Alzheimer's disease. The official cause of death was reported as pneumonia. His wife of 52 years, Nancy Davis Reagan, and his two children, Ronald Jr. and Patti Davis, were with Mr. Reagan at the time of his passing. Another son, Michael, also survives him. His daughter, Maureen Reagan passed away in August of 2001. Mr. Reagan's body lay in state on Monday, June 7th and Tuesday, June 8th at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA. On Wednesday, June 9th he was flown to Washington, D.C. on a Presidential Boeing 747. Upon arriving in Washington, his Masterpiece mahogany casket was transferred from a motorized hearse to a century old horse-drawn caisson. A riderless horse with boots reversed in the stirrups followed the caisson. The procession proceeded up Constitution Avenue to the US Capitol where he laid in state until Friday, June 11th. Funeral services took place Friday morning at 11:30 am at Washington's National Cathedral. Irish tenor Ronan Tynan performed Franz Schubert's Ave Maria. Former Sen. John C. Danforth, R-Mo., officiated. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor read John Winthrop's We shall be as a City Upon a Hill. Eulogies were offered by President Bush, former President George H. W. Bush, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Following the service on Friday, his body was returned to his presidential library in California for a sunset burial ceremony. Rev. Dr. Michael H. Wenning, pastor of the Bel Air Presbyterian Church, officiated. Eulogies were offered by his children, Michael Reagan, Patti Davis and Ron Reagan, Jr. Following the ceremony his casket was placed in a bronze lined burial vault and interred in a crypt on the grounds of the library. President George Bush declared Friday, June 11th, a National Day of Mourning.Ronald Reagan was born on Feb. 6th, 1911 to Jack and Nelle Reagan in Tampico, IL. Jack Reagan worked for the presidential campaign of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who became a hero to the younger Ronald who would later emulate Roosevelt's fireside chats to the nation in his own radio addresses. Ronald Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and began his media career broadcasting University of Iowa football games on a radio station in Davenport, Iowa. In 1937 he was discovered by a Warner Bros. agent and began his film career. He went on to appear in 53 movie productions, both for Hollywood and for the U.S. Armed Forces, as well as a number of television appearances between 1950 and 1971. His most notable movie appearances included Knute Rockne: All American and Kings Row. He also served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1947 to 1952 and again from 1959 to 1960 where he became embroiled in disputes over the issue of Communism in the film industry. It was during this time that his political views shifted from liberal to conservative. Mr. Reagan entered politics after becoming a spokesman and host for GE's General Electric Theatre in the 1950's. His televised speech in support of presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964 gave him measurable clout and respect within the Republican Party. In 1966, he defeated Gov. Pat Brown for the state of California by almost a million votes. He served as California's govenor from 1967-1975.Reagan nearly succeeded in wresting the Republican nomination from President Gerald Ford in 1976. In 1980 he won the Republican nomination for president and defeated incumbent Jimmy Carter after carrying 44 states. At the age of 69, he became the nation's oldest president. Not long after his election, he negotiated for the safe resolution of the Iranian hostage crisis that had hobbled Carter's re-election campaign.On March 30, 1981, President Reagan was shot by John Hinkley after leaving a meeting with labor leaders at the Washington Hilton Hotel. One bullet lodged less than an inch from his heart, but Reagan went on to recover fully. His grace and wit during the dangerous incident caused his popularity to soar. He subsequently won battles with colon cancer in 1985 and prostate and skin cancer in 1987. President Reagan's greatest legacy is perhaps his association with helping to accelerate an end to the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. By competing in an arms race with the Soviet Union and implementing America's research and development of its missile defense system the Soviets signed a disarmament treaty in 1987. The expansive treaty eliminated both countries arsenals of medium-range missiles and scrapped 2600 warheads. At the time, it was the most prolific disarmament treaty since 1945. Reagan's other foreign policy initiatives included declaring war on international terrorism, supporting anti-communist groups in Central America, Asia and Africa and maintaining the free flow of oil during the Iran-Iraq War by ordering naval escorts through the Persian Gulf. Domestically, Reagan saw the country through its worst recession since the 1930's. Dealing skillfully with Congress, Reagan obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment and overhaul the income tax code. His policies resulted in the longest peacetime economic expansion since the end of World War II. He also appointed the first woman, Sandra Day O'Connor, to the Supreme Court in September of 1981. In 1984 he was re-elected by an even greater margin, carrying 49 of the 50 states in defeating Democrat Walter F. Mondale, Carter's vice president. Ronald Reagan embodied the spirit of America. He entered the presidency at a crucial time in the nations history. American morale was at an all time low both domestically with its slumping economy and internationally as to our future as a superpower. Reagan devoted his campaign and presidency to restoring American pride. He believed in America and the American peoples can-do spirit. By the time he left office in 1989, Reagan achieved a two-thirds approval rating for his two terms in office. It was the highest approval rating ever to be achieved by a retiring president in the era of modern polling. In November 1994, five years after leaving office, he announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. At the time he said he had begun the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life.In his announcement, he wrote: When the Lord calls me home ... I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future ... I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.Sources:http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/05/reagan.health/ http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/wwii/rr.htm http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3638299/ http://www.reagan.dk/newpolcha.htm http://www.gopusa.com/news/2004/june/0607_reagan_death.shtml