America's fortieth president (1981-1989), Ronald Wilson Reagan has been laid to rest.

The world watched Nancy, his three remaining children and his friends say goodbye to their 93 year-old husband, father & friend, who was born on February 6, 1911, to John Edward (Jack) and Nelle Reagan in Tampico, Illinois, and who died Saturday, June 5th, 2004 in Bel Air, California.

The country's first state funeral since Lyndon Johnson's tribute in 1973 took place in Washington on Friday, June 11th. President Bush designated Friday as a day of national mourning. Most federal offices were closed, as was The New York Stock Exchange.

Dignitaries from around the world were in attendance to remember the man who - whether revered or considered controversial - had a significant impact on California, the United States and world history.

4,000 A-list political figures and celebrities came in person with invitation in-hand. Of the 4,000, one thousand family, friends and former members of Reagan's administration received an invitation from Nancy, Reagan's wife of 52 years.

3,000 seats at the funeral had been reserved for members of Congress, the diplomatic corps (each nation represented in Washington received two tickets), the Supreme Court, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and foreign leaders.

Millions of people around the world shared a week full of tributes, eulogies, goodbyes and thanks to the man nicknamed "The Great Communicator."

My brother, John Bradford, an actor and movie producer in Pasadena, was one of them. Brad got up at 4am to pay his respects to a man who was President when my brother was in his twenties. When he got to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley where President Reagan has been laid to rest, Brad was told that in order to say good-bye he would have to wait 6-10 hours to reach Reagan's casket. Brad was one of tens of thousands of people who came to Simi Valley to pay their final respects.

After Reagan's body was taken to Washington, by 5 am Thursday, Capitol Police estimated that over 80,000 people had filed past the late president's casket in the Capitol Rotunda. Another 30,000 were lined up outside.

President George W. Bush was one of four thousand, along with the current British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who came to Washington last week to pay their respects.

Other world leaders, past and present, traveled to Washington for the service. Among them: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, and the presidents of Nigeria, South Africa and Afghanistan.

Photo by REUTERS' Gary Hershorn

Former presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush Senior ("41"), Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, who turns 91 on July 14th, sat in the front pews of the National Cathedral together with their wives, including Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Vice President Cheney, former secretaries of state James Baker and George Shultz were also in the church.

Dan Quayle, former President George Bush's vice president, was one of the first to emerge from the cathedral followed by Al Gore, the former vice president, and his wife, Tipper, as well as Prince Charles, Alan Greenspan and Andrea Mitchell, Alexander M. Haig Jr., Henry Kissinger, William F. Buckley Jr., Madeleine K. Albright, the former mayor of New York (a Democrat), Edward I. Koch, and Alfonse M. D'Amato, the former senator from New York (a Republican).

Bob Dole, the former senator and Republican presidential nominee was there to pay tribute along with Mr. Dole's wife, Senator Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, who served as an assistant to President Reagan for Public Liaison (1981-1983) and in Reagan's cabinet as Secretary of Transportation–the first woman to hold that position.

VIP media people present in Washington included: Sam Donaldson, Barbara Walters, Katie Couric, Steve Forbes, Ted Koppel, Merv Griffin, as well as Joan Rivers.

Caroline Kennedy was only six years-old, when her father died in 1963. On Friday, the forty-six year-old attended Washington's first state funeral in three decades along with her husband, Edwin A. Schlossberg. Other children of former presidents present were: Julie Eisenhower, as well as Reagan's own children, Ron, Patti and Michael.

Celebrating the life of a movie actor, turned Governor of California (1966-74), turned President of the United States (1981-85 & 1985-89), turned Alzheimer's victim, turned back to God as a perfect, flawless child, here is a compendium of quotes from our past and present world leaders which speak to the great guy Ronald Reagan was:

Former President George Herbert Walker Bush, who served as Reagan's Vice President for eight years:

Politics can be cruel, uncivil; our friend was strong and gentle. As his Vice-President for eight years, I learnt more from Ronald Reagan than from anyone I encountered in all my years of public life.

I learned kindness, we all did. I also learnt courage, the nation did.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney spoke about Reagan's wit and good humor:

Ronald Reagan does not enter history tentatively. He does so with certainty and panache. At home and on the world stage, his were not the pallid etchings of a timorous politician. They were the bold strokes of a confident and accomplished leader...

Ronald Reagan was a president who inspired his nation and transformed the world. He possessed a rare and prized gift called leadership, that ineffable and magical quality that sets some men and women apart so that millions will follow them as they conjure up grand visions and invite their countrymen to dream big and exciting dreams. I always thought that President Reagan's understanding of the nobility of the presidency coincided with that American dream...

And so in the presence of his beloved and indispensable Nancy, his children, his family, his friends and all of the American people that he so deeply revered, I say au revoir today to a gifted leader and historic president and a gracious human being. And I do so with a line from Yeats, who wrote, "Think where man's glory most begins and ends, and say, 'My glory was that I had such friends.'"

Former British Prime Minister, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher (who offered her tribute by videotape):

We have lost a great president, a great American, and a great man. And I have lost a dear friend.

In his lifetime Ronald Reagan was such a cheerful and invigorating presence that it was easy to forget what daunting historic tasks he set himself. He sought to mend America's wounded spirit, to restore the strength of the free world, and to free the slaves of communism. These were causes hard to accomplish and heavy with risk.

Yet they were pursued with almost a lightness of spirit. For Ronald Reagan also embodied another great cause - what Arnold Bennett once called 'the great cause of cheering us all up.' His politics had a freshness and optimism that won converts from every class and every nation - and ultimately from the very heart of the evil empire.

Yet his humour often had a purpose beyond humour. In the terrible hours after the attempt on his life, his easy jokes gave reassurance to an anxious world. They were evidence that in the aftermath of terror and in the midst of hysteria, one great heart at least remained sane and jocular. They were truly grace under pressure.

And perhaps they signified grace of a deeper kind. Ronnie himself certainly believed that he had been given back his life for a purpose. As he told a priest after his recovery 'Whatever time I've got left now belongs to the Big Fella Upstairs.'

And surely it is hard to deny that Ronald Reagan's life was providential, when we look at what he achieved in the eight years that followed.

Others prophesied the decline of the West; he inspired America and its allies with renewed faith in their mission of freedom.

Others saw only limits to growth; he transformed a stagnant economy into an engine of opportunity.

Others hoped, at best, for an uneasy cohabitation with the Soviet Union; he won the Cold War - not only without firing a shot, but also by inviting enemies out of their fortress and turning them into friends.

I cannot imagine how any diplomat, or any dramatist, could improve on his words to Mikhail Gorbachev at the Geneva summit: 'Let me tell you why it is we distrust you.' Those words are candid and tough and they cannot have been easy to hear. But they are also a clear invitation to a new beginning and a new relationship that would be rooted in trust.

We live today in the world that Ronald Reagan began to reshape with those words. It is a very different world with different challenges and new dangers. All in all, however, it is one of greater freedom and prosperity, one more hopeful than the world he inherited on becoming president.

As Prime Minister, I worked closely with Ronald Reagan for eight of the most important years of all our lives. We talked regularly both before and after his presidency. And I have had time and cause to reflect on what made him a great president.

Ronald Reagan knew his own mind. He had firm principles - and, I believe, right ones. He expounded them clearly, he acted upon them decisively.

When the world threw problems at the White House, he was not baffled, or disorientated, or overwhelmed. He knew almost instinctively what to do.

When his aides were preparing option papers for his decision, they were able to cut out entire rafts of proposals that they knew 'the Old Man' would never wear.

When his allies came under Soviet or domestic pressure, they could look confidently to Washington for firm leadership.

And when his enemies tested American resolve, they soon discovered that his resolve was firm and unyielding.

Yet his ideas, though clear, were never simplistic. He saw the many sides of truth.

Yes, he warned that the Soviet Union had an insatiable drive for military power and territorial expansion; but he also sensed it was being eaten away by systemic failures impossible to reform.

Yes, he did not shrink from denouncing Moscow's 'evil empire.' But he realised that a man of goodwill might nonetheless emerge from within its dark corridors.

So the President resisted Soviet expansion and pressed down on Soviet weakness at every point until the day came when communism began to collapse beneath the combined weight of these pressures and its own failures. And when a man of goodwill did emerge from the ruins, President Reagan stepped forward to shake his hand and to offer sincere cooperation.

Nothing was more typical of Ronald Reagan than that large-hearted magnanimity - and nothing was more American.

Therein lies perhaps the final explanation of his achievements. Ronald Reagan carried the American people with him in his great endeavours because there was perfect sympathy between them. He and they loved America and what it stands for - freedom and opportunity for ordinary people.

As an actor in Hollywood's golden age, he helped to make the American dream live for millions all over the globe. His own life was a fulfilment of that dream. He never succumbed to the embarrassment some people feel about an honest expression of love of country.

He was able to say 'God Bless America' with equal fervour in public and in private. And so he was able to call confidently upon his fellow-countrymen to make sacrifices for America - and to make sacrifices for those who looked to America for hope and rescue.

With the lever of American patriotism, he lifted up the world. And so today the world - in Prague, in Budapest, in Warsaw, in Sofia, in Bucharest, in Kiev and in Moscow itself - the world mourns the passing of the Great Liberator and echoes his prayer "God Bless America".

Ronald Reagan's life was rich not only in public achievement, but also in private happiness. Indeed, his public achievements were rooted in his private happiness. The great turning point of his life was his meeting and marriage with Nancy.

On that we have the plain testimony of a loving and grateful husband: 'Nancy came along and saved my soul.' We share her grief today. But we also share her pride - and the grief and pride of Ronnie's children.

For the final years of his life, Ronnie's mind was clouded by illness. That cloud has now lifted. He is himself again - more himself than at any time on this earth. For we may be sure that the Big Fella Upstairs never forgets those who remember Him. And as the last journey of this faithful pilgrim took him beyond the sunset, and as heaven's morning broke, I like to think - in the words of Bunyan - that 'all the trumpets sounded on the other side.'

We here still move in twilight. But we have one beacon to guide us that Ronald Reagan never had. We have his example. Let us give thanks today for a life that achieved so much for all of God's children.

President George W. Bush:

He believed the gentleman always does the kindest thing. He believed people were basically good and had the right to be free. He believed that bigotry and prejudice were the worst things that a person could be guilty of. ... He believed America was not just a place in the world, but the hope of the world.

Quoting "43" President George W. Bush invoked a passage from 2 Corinthians, saying Reagan "saw through a glass darkly" in his last years. "Now he sees his Savior face to face. And we look for that fine day when we will see him again, all weariness gone, clear of mind, strong and sure and smiling again, and the sorrow of this parting gone forever."

The Desert Sun newspaper in Palm Spring reported Reagan's first wife, actress Jane Wyman, broke her silence about her former husband to praise him.

"America has lost a great president and a great, kind and gentle man," Wyman told a close friend.

Reagan with First Wife, Jane Wyman and Their Children, Michael & Maureen

Wyman is the mother of Reagan's eldest children, Michael and Maureen. The Oscar-winning actress married Reagan in 1940. However, the couple divorced in 1948. Wyman won an Academy Award for "Johnny Belinda" but is better know today for her role in the 1980s hit TV show "Falcon Crest."

Many celebrated Mr. Reagan's life with their talents as opposed to their own words. A few who touched our hearts deeply included:

Irish tenor, Ronan Tynan who sang Ave Maria;

A military band played America the Beautiful;

U.S. Navy jets that flew overhead in what is called a 'Missing Man Formation';

A lone bagpiper played "Amazing Grace";

An honour guard presented widow Nancy Reagan with the flag that his pallbearers folded after it had draped his coffin for his last journey home.

Other leaders who shared their thoughts, including a number of key cabinet members said:

"This was a great man. This was a political giant who strode across the stage," said William Bennett, who served as Reagan's secretary of education.

"Reagan was the most dominating president of the 20th Century," said Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. "He changed the map of the world. He defeated communism. He destroyed the Soviet Union. He tore down the Berlin Wall and he fought for the rights of the individual."

"He taught us the importance of freedom, freedom in economic life, freedom in political life, said George Shultz, former Secretary of State during most of Reagan's presidency (1982-1989), who rejoined Stanford University as the Jack Steele Parker Professor of International Economics at the Graduate School of Business at the end of Reagan's administration and who became a distinguished fellow at the Hoover Institution, a California think tank. "He taught us the importance of understanding ideas, translating them into action. He understood very deeply the ideas he was advocating," Shultz added.

"He was a strong leader with an uncommon trait — he had an ability to make everybody feel good," said James Baker, Reagan's Chief of Staff. "It's hard to find anybody in Washington during those eight years who didn't like Ronald Reagan as a person."

"Our country has lost one of its greatest presidents," said Edwin Meese, who served as White House counsel during Reagan's first term and attorney general for most of the second. "Ronald Reagan revitalized the economy, rebuilt our national defense and revived the spirits of the American people. His passing is a great loss to those of us who were privileged to work for him as governor, as president - and to know him as a friend. We will always cherish the memories of all that he has meant to us personally and to the nation."

When Reagan was president, he had a small sign on his desk in the Oval Office that offered a reminder to himself. It said, "There is no limit to how far a man can go or what he can achieve as long as that man doesn't worry about who gets credit."

This past Friday, 700 people gathered back in Simi Valley for a final tribute. Margaret Thatcher was present, as was Governor Schwarzenegger. Celebrities included Nancy Sinatra, Tom Selleck, Merv Griffin, Bo Derek and Larry King.

During this final ceremony, Reagan's family stepped up to say goodbye.

Son, Michael Reagan:

You know my father as governor, as president, but I knew him as dad. I was so proud to have the Reagan name and to be Ronald Reagan's son.

Fifty-eight year-old, Michael Reagan is a conservative radio talk-show host and syndicated columnist. He was adopted by Ronald and Jane Wyman though his father never spoke of him as being adopted. During Friday's eulogies Michael spoke about being welcomed into the family as Ronald's own son.

Daughter, Patricia Ann (Patti) Reagan:

My father never feared death. He never saw it as an ending," Patti Davis said. "I don't know why Alzheimer's was allowed to steal so much of my father before releasing him into the arms of death. But I know that at his last moment, when he opened his eyes -- eyes that had not opened for many, many days -- and looked at my mother, he showed us that neither disease nor death can conquer love.

First Son, Ronald Prescott Reagan:

He is home now. He is free. History will record his worth as a leader. We here have long since measured his worth as a man -- honest, compassionate, graceful, brave. He was the most plainly decent man you could ever hope to meet.

Reagan's other daughter, Maureen, did not speak but her spirit was clearly felt. She was up in Heaven with her father watching down on the celebrations of the week. No doubt, both of them were smiling.

Meanwhile, her actions while she was alive continue to speak as loud if not louder than her words through her efforts as an Alzheimer's activist.

In 1994, Reagan wrote a letter announcing his Alzheimer's diagnosis. He said, "In closing, let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president.

When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future.

I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead."

The sun shone as bright as ever as it set this past Friday. The backdrop of the stage Reagan had set for himself needed only one take; this one was perfect.

On a wall surrounding his grave is an epitaph which says, "I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life."

Amen!

As the granddaughter of Willis Jones, an award-wining highschool coach, who was known in Madison Wisconsin as a "maker of men" but who was known to me as my mother's father, a man stricken by the deadly brain-disorder called Alzheimer's disease, I pray the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Institute together with the Alzheimer's Association (Alz.org) will continue to flourish.

Dennis Revell, husband of Wyman and Reagan’s late daughter Maureen, continues to sit on the board of this association.

"When you have an encounter with a disease like Alzheimer’s, even when the loved one dies, you don’t just dust your hands off and walk away," says Daniel Perry, president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research. "I fully expect that Mrs. Reagan will be involved in advancing research in this disease to help others."

Scientists believe stem cell research is the most promising path to a cure for such illnesses as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and diabetes.

“Ronnie’s long journey has finally taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him,” Mrs. Reagan told the star-studded audience at a recent Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation gala. "Because of this, I’m determined to do whatever I can to save other families from this pain."

As the mother of two young daughters with Type 1 diabetes, I applaud Mrs. Reagan's support of using embryos for stem cell research.

Thank you Mrs. and Mrs. Reagan! God bless you both for your lifetime of service to this country and the American people.

Inspire & Be Inspired.

~Jennifer King