Maureen Reagan
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| Maureen Reagan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Maureen Elizabeth Reagan January 4, 1941 |
| Died | August 8, 2001 (aged 60) |
Maureen Elizabeth Reagan Revell (January 4, 1941 – August 8, 2001) was the daughter of the former President Ronald Reagan and his first wife, the late Jane Wyman. She was also the only child born to them who survived infancy; their son Michael Edward Reagan was adopted. Another daughter, Christine, was born prematurely and died the day of her birth.
As a young actress, she acted in films. She married and divorced John Filippone and David Sills, before marrying her third husband, Dennis Revell, in 1981.
During her lifetime she was involved with the Republican Party and worked as a political activist, radio talk show host, commentator and health care advocate. She was regarded as the most politically skilled of Ronald Reagan's four children. Her most active political years were in the 1980's, when she was a member of the California World Trade Commission, chairwoman of the United States delegation to the United Nations' Decade for Women Conference in Kenya, in 1985; co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, and chairwoman of the Republican Women's Political Action League. She also was a penpal to Missourian, Nicholas W. Inman, who began the correspondence in first grade in 1988. The two would correspond until 2001.
Both of her attempts at election to a public office ended in defeat. She ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate from California in 1982, and in 1992 for a California congressional seat.
Although they maintained a united front, Maureen Reagan differed from her father on several key issues. Although reared Catholic (following her mother's conversion) she was pro-choice on abortion. She also believed that Oliver North should have been court-martialed.[citation needed]
After her father announced his diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in 1994, she became a member of the Alzheimer's Association board of directors and served as the group’s spokeswoman. During her hospitalization for melanoma cancer, Maureen was only floors away from her father who had suffered a severe fall.
She died in Sacramento, California in 2001, aged 60, from melanoma, and was survived by her parents, step-mother, husband, Dennis Revell, and their adopted Ugandan-American daughter, Rita Mirembe Revell.
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