Mourners view Nancy Reagan’s casket at presidential library

Associated Press

SIMI VALLEY, Calif.

Nancy Reagan began her final journey to her husband’s side Wednesday as a police motorcade carried her casket down an empty freeway lined with saluting firefighters and mourners holding hands over their hearts in tribute to the former first lady.

The roadside reverence reflected her late husband’s touch with the common man and followed some of the route his own funeral procession took in 2004, eventually winding its way up to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where volunteers in blue jackets stood behind a guardrail festooned with small American flags.

The day began with a private ceremony for family and close friends at a funeral home in Santa Monica, followed by a public viewing at the library.

People came from near and far to pay tribute to the widow of the 40th president, who was respected for her grace, strength and unfailing loyalty to her husband during his two terms in office and his final struggles with Alzheimer’s disease.

Shuttles bused groups of mourners to take turns walking quietly in a circle around the casket covered in white roses and peonies – Mrs. Reagan’s favorite flower.

The mood was somber, and many people wiped away tears. More than 1,000 people paid their respects in the first two hours, according to the library.

The public viewing came hours after the small motorcade traveled 45 miles from the coast to the hills above Simi Valley northwest of Los Angeles. The public viewing was to continue for two days leading up to the funeral scheduled for Friday.

Mrs. Reagan, who died Sunday at 94, planned the smallest details of her funeral. She selected the funeral’s flower arrangements, the music to be played by a Marine Corps band and the list of guests invited to the private memorial.