Nancy Reagan and her Step Children

[Jodi1980]

Wasn't there problems with Nancy and one of her step children some time back? Does anyone remember the reasons?

 

[Saffron]

Oh oh. I think you just took the lid off a can of worms.

 

[luvwinnie]

I know that she and her OWN daughter, Patti, were estranged for a while...not sure about the stepkids.

 

[piglet too]

There had been lots of problems with her and Patty (did not realize they were step-children?) They mentioned at least once during the coverage how they have become close once again. President Reagan was the one who always worked to get them over their differences. Nancy and Patty would have another one of their tiffs and it would be he who make the phone call to Patty to get them talking about the latest argument.

 

[C.Ann]

There were problems with Nancy and ALL of the children - at one time or another.. I think what it all boils down to is that she loved her husband to the TOTAL exclusion of everyone and everything else, and I believe he felt the same about her.. It was like they were on this honeymoon that NEVER ended.. A very powerful love that unfortunately hurt a lot of people along the way..

On the flip side though, I have to wonder how supportive the children were when the going really got tough with their Dad for the past 10 years.. I'm all too familiar with step-children who claim undying love for their Dad but somehow only manage to visit him when he's in the hospital in ICU.. Once he's out, they disappear again without so much as an occasional phone call..

There were problems on both sides - but the one thing I'm sure of is that Nancy and Ronald Reagan had one of the most powerful and enduring loves that I have ever witnessed in my lifetime..

 

[Saffron]

These are the names of Ronald Reagan's children. The first two are Nancy Reagan's step-children.

Maureen Reagan ( she died from Breast Ca in 2002)
Michael Reagan
Patricia Reagan
Ronald Reagan

I watched a little bit of the services Wednesday night. I saw Michael standing behind Ronnie and Patty during the prayer service in the Rotunda.

Pick up a book written by any of the children and you'll learn about their relationship with the mother/step-mother and father. I haven't read any of the books, but I was discussing Michaels's book with my BF last night (he thinks he's read every book ever written about Reagan), and he's going to find it for me so I can read it. It sounds interesting.

 

[Keli]

I think Nancy has had problems with all of her children, natural and step. But over time she seems to have worked it out with all of them and appears to be close to them now. That is good, they will all need each other in the days ahead.

 

[PamOKW]

Michael Reagan was also the adopted son of President Reagan when he was married to Jane Wyman. He has had a turbulent relationship throughout his life but I believe reconciled with his father. Maureen was the natural child of Jane Wyman. I'm pretty sure both children were quite young when their parents divorced.

It's odd that the media are not mentioning the grandchldren of President Reagan. I think Michael's children are standing with him. I can't recall whether Ron has any children? I don't think the late Maureen nor Patti have children.

 

[pw2pp]

Patti actually goes by the name Patti Davis. Or maybe it is a stage name? (she is/was an actress - My DH and I saw her in a play 20 years ago).
I thought is was strange that she went by the last name "Davis" which is Nancy's Maiden name. I have never heard of a person taking their Mother's Maiden name instead of their father's last name (especially when the Mother didn't keep her maiden name). That is why I am thinking it is her stage name.

 

[zurgswife]

Originally posted by PamOKW

It's odd that the media are not mentioning the grandchldren of President Reagan. I think Michael's children are standing with him. I can't recall whether Ron has any children? I don't think the late Maureen nor Patti have children.

I heard a quote that stated they didn't have any grandchildren..???

 

[pw2pp]

I know for sure that Michael has children, I don't know about the others, but I don't think they do.

 

[luvwinnie]

Maureen Reagan had melanoma that spread to her brain, not breast cancer. She died during the time my dad's melanoma was being treated.

 

[Lanshark]

Most people have problems with their children but their's were covered by the media. The media also gave the children a public arena to voice their discontentment. I am thankful my own teen doesn't have the eyes and ears of the country sometimes. I wonder how any of us could stand up against the scrutiny.

I'm not saying this as a huge Reagan fan but as a parent.

 

[luvwinnie]

I read that his adopted son, Michael, has 2 kids, boy and girl.

 

[pw2pp]

I found an article about the Reagan children. It says that Patti reconciled with her parents in 1993 and regretted the estrangement between them.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/peopleevents/pande05.html

 

[Saffron]

Ahh, you're right luvwinnie about the melanoma, my memory failed me once again.

 

[cheyita]

I've been wondering about how infrequently we see Michael compared to Patti and Ron - I can only figure they've been showing Nancy's children more since many people feel such a connection to her.

The first family statement I heard released after Pres. Reagan passed was from his son, Michael. It expressed his feeling of loss and stated that he would not be discussing it any further.

 

[m&m's mom]

A funny (kind of) thing about the Melanoma death of Maureen Reagan. I have had to correct several different people about her not dying of breast cancer but instead Melanoma.
Must be something that associated in peoples brains.
I also rememebred the Melanoma as my DH had a touch of that as well about the time Maureen died.

 

[catsrule]

Originally posted by m&m's mom
A funny (kind of) thing about the Melanoma death of Maureen Reagan. I have had to correct several different people about her not dying of breast cancer but instead Melanoma.
Must be something that associated in peoples brains.
I also rememebred the Melanoma as my DH had a touch of that as well about the time Maureen died.

That is because a couple of newscasts (can't remember which ones) said she died of Breast cancer. The media is always so acurate.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

If I remember right, Maureen had at least one child that she and her husband had adopted. I think it was a child from a foreign country, don't remember boy/girl or which country. Michael also has two children. He has spoken on his radio program before about reconciling with his father and he gets along well with Nancy.
Here is a fact I didn't know until today--Reagan and Jane Wyman had a daughter after they adopted Michael who only lived for one day. Her name was Christine. I heard a commentator mention it but had to look at a bunch of Jane Wyman sites to find any confirmation of that fact. The commentator was a biographer who said that the death affected Reagan a great deal.
Robin M.