My Father at 100

242 Pages·2011·0.877 MB·English

by  Reagan, Ron

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My Father at 100

Ron Reagan

vik i ng
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My Father at 100

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My Father at 100

Ron Reagan

vik i ng
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viking

Published by the Penguin Group

.
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Group (Canada),

90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada

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Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green,

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Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published in 2011 by Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Copyright © Ron Reagan, 2011

All rights reserved

Excerpt from “Kitty Bawn O’Brien,” music and lyrics by Allister MacGillivary. Copyright Cabot Trail Music.
Used by permission.
Photograph credits: Insert pages 5 (bottom) and 6 (top left): Photographs by Elizabeth “Bee” Frey Drew. By
permission of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home (Dixon, Illinois) on behalf of the family of Elizabeth Frey
Drew; 11 (bottom): Jane McCowan / General Electric; 12 (top and bottom): Courtesy Ronald Reagan Library;
13 (top): © Murray Garrett, Garrett-Howard Inc.; 15 (top and bottom): AP Photo / Walter Zeboski. All other
photographs courtesy Ronald Reagan Family.
library of congress cataloging in publication data

Reagan, Ron.

My father at 100 / by Ron Reagan.

p. cm.
ISBN 1-101-46720-7
1. Reagan, Ronald. 2. Reagan, Ronald—Family. 3. Presidents—United States—Biography.

I. Title. II. Title: My father at one hundred.

E877.R325 2011

973.927092—dc22

[B] 2010045833

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright
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not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials. Your support of the author’s rights is
appreciated.
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To all the family members

whose stories I never knew

and

To Doria,

whose story is forever intertwined

with my own.

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Acknowledgments

As a fi rst-time author, I would have floundered without the help of
many generous souls. I owe Clare Ferraro a debt of gratitude for tak­
ing a chance on me in the fi rst place. Editor Rick Kot provided in­
valuable advice; his thoughtfulness and thoroughness are matched
only by his deft, light touch. Thanks also to Laura Tisdel, Kyle
Davis, Rachel Burd, Francesca Belanger, and Gregg Kulick. No
book would have been possible without the hard work of Laurie
Jacoby, a friend and ally for many years, and Lydia Wills. I’m pro­
foundly grateful to both. There were helping hands all along the way.
At the Reagan Presidential Library my job was made considerably
easier by Mike Duggan, Steve Branch, Kirby Elizabeth Hanson,
Joanne Drake, and Wren Powell. In Tampico, Illinois, I received
invaluable help from Joan Johnson along with David and Judy Jacob-
son. In Dixon, I was warmly received and aided by Connie Lange,
Sue Little, Phyllis Scherer, Arlene Waterhouse, Marla Tremble, and
William Jones. Eureka College also rolled out the welcome mat. Spe­
cial thanks to Eureka’s president, Dr. J. David Arnold, Brian Sjalko,
Anthony Glass, and Jyl Krause. Jim Santanella provided invaluable
technical help. Deepest thanks as well to my mother, Nancy Reagan,
for her enthusiastic support every step of the way and to my wife,
Doria, for her love and patience.
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