Betsy Bloomingdale, the widow of a department store heir who hobnobbed with the world's elite and was best friends with former first lady Nancy Reagan, has died. She was 93.
They came to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where the former first lady lay in repose Wednesday, the first of three days of mourning that conclude with Friday's funeral. From quiet, tearful individuals to multigenerational families, more than 3,000 people passed by her casket in the first day of public viewing.
Three days of formal mourning for former first lady Nancy Reagan began Wednesday with a private service before her casket was taken in a police-escorted motorcade up an empty freeway for a public viewing at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.