Nancy Reagan, Former First Lady, Dies at 94

Former first lady Nancy Reagan, who joined her husband on a storybook journey from Hollywood to the White House, died Sunday.

Nancy Davis Reagan died of congestive heart failure at her home in Los Angeles Sunday morning, The Ronald Reagan Foundation said in a statement.

"Mrs. Reagan will be buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, next to her husband, Ronald Wilson Reagan, who died on June 5, 2004. Prior to the funeral service, there will bean opportunity for members of the public to pay their respects at the library," Drake said in a statement.

In a statement, President Barack Obama thanked Reagan for her "warm and generous advice."

"Our former First Lady redefined the role in her time here," he continued."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. "

Nancy Reagan was the helpmate, backstage adviser and fierce protector of Ronald Reagan in his journey from actor to president - and finally during his 10-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Her best-known project as first lady was the "Just Say No" campaign to help kids and teens stay off drugs.

When Ronald Reagan was shot in a 1981 assassination attempt, Nancy Reagan never left the hospital where the president was treated until he was released, according to her press secretary, Sheila Tate.

After she and her husband left Washington, she became his protector again as he struggled with Alzheimer's disease until his death in 2004. Afterward, she remained a staunch guardian of his image and legacy.

Her official White House biography quotes Nancy Reagan as saying, "My life really began when I married my husband."