First Lady Nancy Reagan's Chicago Connection

Former first lady Nancy Reagan, who died of congestive heart failure at her Los Angeles home on Sunday morning at the age of 94, spent some of her formative years in Chicago and worked at one of the city's iconic department stores.

Her husband, Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989, also grew up in Illinois. She and her husband were famously devoted to one another. He would call her "Mommy," and when she spoke of him, he always was "Ronnie" to her.

Born Anne Frances Robbins on July 6, 1921, in New York, she lived in Chicago for a time as a youngster. Her stepfather Loyal Davis was a prominent neurosurgeon who moved the family to Chicago. Davis formally adopted her when she was 14 years old, and she legally changed her name to Nancy Davis.

She graduated from the Girls' Latin School of Chicago in 1939. By that time, Ronald Reagan was already in the movies, appearing that year in the film "Code of the Secret Service."

Her best friend, Jean Wescott Marshall, told biographer Bob Colacello that she and Nancy loved the movies: “We were all wrapped up in movie stars. I liked Ronald Reagan, and she liked Bing Crosby. She used to say, ‘I don’t see what you see in Ronald Reagan.’”

After college, Mrs. Reagan returned to Chicago and worked at a Marshall Field's department store as a clerk before embarking on an acting career, first in theater and then in the movies.

She met Ronald Reagan in Hollywood in 1950. At the time, he was president of the Screen Actors Guild. Ronald Reagan likewise spent his youthful, formative years in Illinois. While the woman who became the love of his life grew up in affluence in the city, he was raised in modest, lower-middle-class circumstances in a small town. He was born in Tampico in 1911, grew up in Dixon and graduated from Eureka College.

They married in 1952.

After the former president's 1994 Alzheimer's disease diagnosis, his wife told Vanity Fair in 1998: "Our relationship is very special. We were very much in love and still are. When I say my life began with Ronnie, well, it's true. It did. I can't imagine life without him."

He died in 2004 at the age of 93.

Recognized as one of the more influential first ladies, Mrs. Reagan was remembered as an advocate for decreasing drug and alcohol abuse, particularly the "Just Say No" campaign in the 1980s. She continued her advocacy long after retiring from public service.

Her reputation loomed large among those who take up the mantle of national leadership. After President Barack Obama took office, first lady Michelle Obama called Mrs. Reagan to seek her advice.

“She called me for advice, suggestions. I was very happy to talk to her. We had a nice conversation," Mrs. Reagan told her biographer, Colacello, for a 2009 Vanity Fair article. Her suggestion: Host many state dinners. “That’s one of the things we talked about. ... It’s the easiest thing in the world. Just have a good time and do a little business. And that’s the way Washington works.”

The Obamas issued a statement on Sunday:

"Nancy Reagan once wrote that nothing could prepare you for living in the White House. She was right, of course. But we had a head start, because we were fortunate to benefit from her proud example, and her warm and generous advice. Our former First Lady redefined the role in her time here. Later, in her long goodbye with President Reagan, she became a voice on behalf of millions of families going through the depleting, aching reality of Alzheimer’s, and took on a new role, as advocate, on behalf of treatments that hold the potential and the promise to improve and save lives. We offer our sincere condolences to their children, Patti, Ron, and Michael, and to their grandchildren. And we remain grateful for Nancy Reagan's life, thankful for her guidance, and prayerful that she and her beloved husband are together again."

She wielded great influence in the White House during her husband's presidency and was a fierce guardian of his legacy after the White House years and after his death.

"Every time she was in the room, he was better, and every time he was in the room she was better. She brought a sense of class and dignity and elegance that everybody admired," Ken Duberstein, former chief of staff to President Reagan, told NBC News.

Married for 52 years, they have been apart almost 12 years since his death. Ronald Reagan once said: "Whenever she’s out of sight, I’m a worrier about her.”

Nancy Reagan will be buried alongside the late president at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

• read more about Nancy Reagan on Patch
• more information via the Reagan Foundation