Patrick Leahy: “We have come to the close of several days of tribute to our late President, Ronald Reagan. So much has been said about…”

“We have come to the close of several days of tribute to our late President, Ronald Reagan. So much has been said about President Reagan's buoyant spirit and about the contributions he made to our Nation, and these tributes have helped millions of Americans with the healing process that comes with the death of so popular and beloved a leader. Though much has already been said about President Reagan, I do want to pay special tribute today to our former First Lady, Nancy Reagan. For me--and, I suspect, for millions of other Americans--some of the most stirring images of this memorable week have been of Nancy Reagan and her family. We saw again, and so clearly, her strength, her compassion and her deep love for her husband. Ever since President Reagan's deeply moving announcement to his fellow citizens and to the world that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, I have watched Mrs. Reagan conduct herself with compassion, loyalty, competence and caring that have been an inspiration to the thousands of family members who every day struggle to cope with loved ones suffering from this disease or from any of the long variety of other disorders that can come upon us in our older ages--and sometimes far earlier than that.”