Pat Nixon
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White House portrait of Patricia Nixon |
Patricia Ryan Nixon (
March 16,
1912 –
June 22,
1993) was the wife of
Richard Nixon and the
First Lady of the United States from
1969 to
1974.
Thelma Catherine Ryan was born in
Ely, Nevada, just shortly before
St. Patrick's Day to the chagrin of her father, William M. Ryan. He nicknamed his daughter "Pat" because he was of
Irish descent. Pat's mother, Katherine "Kate" Halberstadt Ryan, was
German, having been born in
1879 in Essen County, near
Frankfurt, Germany. [
1] Although the family was not Catholic, her father was baptized in the Catholic faith and was thought to have returned to it shortly before he died. Thelma eventually legally changed her name to Patricia upon her father's death and her enrollment in college.
Her family soon moved near
Los Angeles, California and settled on a small truck farm in the city of Dairy Valley which is present day
Cerritos.
Pat's mother died in 1925; Pat, who was 13, assumed all the household duties for her father and two older brothers. In 1930, aged 18, Pat lost her father after nursing him through months of illness.
During this time she worked on the family farm and also at a local bank as a
janitor and
bookkeeper.
After graduating from Excelsior High School in 1929, Patricia Ryan attended
Fullerton Junior College for a while. She also worked as a
driver,
X-ray technician,
pharmacy manager and a
typist. She also worked in small capacities in several other jobs.
Left on her own and determined to continue her education, she worked her way through the
University of Southern California. She held part-time jobs on campus, as a
sales clerk in a fashionable department store and as an
extra in the
film industry.
She can be seen in a brief walk-on in the 1935 film
Becky Sharp. Pat's efforts paid off when she graduated from USC
cum laude in 1937.
Pat accepted a position as a
high school teacher in
Whittier, California. Later, during
World War II, she would work as a government
economist.
Indeed, it has been said that "Few, if any First Ladies worked as consistently before their marriage as did Pat Nixon." [
2]
Pat Nixon, referring to herself and her travails, once said: "I do or I die, but I never cancel out."
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Pat and Richard Nixon on the political trail together, exit US plane |
While in Whittier, Pat Ryan met a young lawyer fresh out of
Duke University, named
Richard "Dick" Nixon. The two became acquainted at a
Little Theater group when they were cast together in
The Dark Tower, a play so horrible that co-playwright
Alexander Woollcott had it removed from his list of published works in
Who's Who (UK). Dick courted Pat for some time, even driving her on dates with other beaus. They married at the
Mission Inn in
Riverside, California on
June 21,
1940.
Dick Nixon served in the
Navy during
World War II. After a brief stint in
Ottumwa, Iowa, she campaigned at his side in 1946 when he entered politics, running successfully for
U.S. Congress.
That same year, she gave birth to daughter and namesake
Patricia, usually called Tricia. In 1948, Pat had her second baby,
Julie.
Within six years Pat saw her husband elected to the
House, the
United States Senate and the
Vice Presidential ticket with
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Pat accompanied her husband abroad in his vice presidential years. On a trip to
Venezuela, their car was pelted with rocks and they were spat upon. Despite the demands of official life, the Nixons were devoted parents to their two daughters. Pat Nixon had a reputation for warmth; for example, the
November 1,
1958 Seattle Times said, describing a whole family stopover in
Seattle while en route to
Alaska: "Mrs. Nixon is always reported to be gracious and friendly. And she sure is friendly. She greets a stranger as a friend. She doesn't just shake hands but clasps a visitors hand in both her hands. Her manner is direct. [...] Mrs. Nixon also upheld her reputation of always looking neat, no matter how long her day has been."
One of Pat Nixon's major causes in the years that she lived at the
White House was "volunteerism", as she called it. She spent hours answering all of her mail personally. Like
Jacqueline Kennedy, she had an interest in adding artifacts to the Executive Mansion. In the end, Pat's work brought in over 600 paintings and furnishings into the White House Collection. Mrs. Nixon also instituted a series of performances by artists at the White House in varied American traditions--from opera to bluegrass. Among the guests were
The Carpenters in 1972.
When they entered the White House in 1969, the Nixons began a short-lived tradition of inviting families to non-denominational Sunday church services in the
East Room of the
White House. The
President later discontinued these services due to concerns over the
separation of Church and State.
Pat Nixon continued her practice of joining him on state visits during his
Presidency. Her travels included the
historic visit to the
People's Republic of China in 1972 and the summit meetings in the
Soviet Union.
Her first solo official trip involved taking relief supplies to earthquake victims in
Peru. Later, she visited
Africa and
South America with the unique diplomatic standing of Personal Representative of the President.
Pat Nixon was not completely preoccupied with political duties, and was an avid fan of
soap operas,
Search for Tomorrow being her favorite. She was a big fan of actor
Larry Haines. One day, when she was leaving an official White House function, she saw him walk past her. She was quoted later as excitedly whispering to her husband, "Look, dear, it's Stu Bergman. Stu from
Search for Tomorrow".
In August 1974, President Nixon resigned office. As he made his resignation speech, Mrs. Nixon was upstairs in the residence packing for California. They left the White House on
August 9,
1974 for
San Clemente, California.
Pat Nixon was in failing health in retirement and suffered a
stroke in 1976 and again in 1982. A long time heavy smoker, she also battled mouth cancer,
emphysema and a degenerative spinal condition. She rarely appeared in public, never returned to the White House and gave no interviews. Her public life ended the day her husband resigned from the presidency.
In December 1992, while hospitalized with respiratory problems, the former First Lady was diagnosed with
lung cancer.
She died at her home in
Park Ridge, New Jersey at 5:45 am on
June 22,
1993 at the age of 81 with her daughters and husband by her side, the day after her 53rd wedding anniversary. Former Presidents Reagan and Ford and their wives attended the funeral.
Her husband followed her in death exactly ten months later. She and the former President are buried at the
Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in
Yorba Linda, California. Her
epitaph reads: "Even when people can't speak your language, they can tell if you have love in your heart".
*
White House biography *
First Lady Biography: Pat Nixon*
Richard Nixon's Tribute to His Beloved Pat *
Pat Nixon's Gravesite{{Persondata
NAME=Nixon, Pat | ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Nixon, Patricia | SHORT DESCRIPTION=Wife of Richard Nixon | DATE OF BIRTH=March 6, 1912 | PLACE OF BIRTH=Ely, Nevada | DATE OF DEATH=June 22, 1993 | PLACE OF DEATH=Park Ridge, New Jersey
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