Reagan remembered for passion, politics

Thursday, Aug. 9, 2001 | 10:25 a.m.

Prominent Nevadans who worked with Maureen Reagan remember former President Ronald Reagan's daughter as a lover of politics who passionately championed a number of causes during her busy political life.

"She was very outspoken and very opinionated but you could argue vigorously with Maureen for hours and at the end still be friends with her," said Frank Fahrenkopf, director of the American Gaming Association and former co-chairman of the Republican National Committee with Maureen Reagan from 1987-89.

"She loved her father but did not always agree with him on the issues, and would argue with him. For example, on the subject of abortion, she was pro choice and he was pro life."

Maureen Reagan died Wednesday of cancer in Sacramento. She was 60.

Fahrenkopf, who was chairman of the RNC for four years before sharing the last two years at that post with Maureen Reagan, first met her in the late 1960s at a regional Young Republicans meeting. He was a member of the Nevada branch, she was a member of a California faction.

"She was bitten by the political bug at an early age and became a tremendous communicator on behalf of the party," Fahrenkopf said, noting his friend was "a little nutty, had a great sense of humor and could tell a salty story."

In the 1960s, Reagan also worked in Las Vegas and in California, singing in nightclubs and doing television commercials. She also had bit parts in television series "The Partridge Family" and "Marcus Welby, M.D." and in the 1964 Elvis Presley film, "Kissin' Cousins."

Las Vegas advertising executive and political advisor Sig Rogich, the media coordinator for Ronald Reagan's 1984 re-election campaign, remembered Maureen as, "an extremely pleasant woman who had a great deal of respect for everybody. But she was not afraid to speak her mind."

"Maureen did a wonderful job alerting the world to the tragedy of Alzheimer's (disease) after her father was diagnosed with it," Rogich said. "And she was courageous in her own battle with cancer, helping to bring about an understanding of the disease that has caused so much tragedy for so many families."

Former Nevada governor and Republican Sen. Paul Laxalt said President Reagan had no better supporter -- except for his wife, Nancy, of course -- than Maureen.

"Throughout President Reagan's career, Maureen stood steadfastly by his side and was a source of great comfort to him," Laxalt said in a statement issued from his Capitol Hill consulting business, The Paul Laxalt Group.

"By working with Ron in the political vineyards for the better part of 25 years, I came to respect and admire Maureen for her boundless energy and enthusiasm."

Fahrenkopf, who last saw Maureen at a party at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia last year, recalled watching an ailing Maureen beam with great pride as she introduced to guests her now-16-year-old daughter Rita, of Uganda, who Maureen and her husband Dennis Revell adopted in 1995.

Maureen Reagan was a tireless advocate for the rights of minorities and women, Fahrenkopf said.

She is survived by her husband, Dennis C. Revell; their 16-year-old daughter, Rita, a Ugandan they adopted in 1995; her father, mother, stepmother; brother Michael Reagan; half-sister Patti Davis and half brother Ronald Reagan Jr.

A public memorial service and Mass were scheduled for Aug. 18 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Sacramento, followed by a private graveside service.