[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 25 (Monday, June 28, 1993)]
[Page 1157]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Death of Pat Nixon

 June 22, 1993

    The Nation is deeply saddened today by the loss of former First Lady 
Pat Nixon.
    Patricia Ryan Nixon was a quiet pioneer whose concern for family and 
country will leave a lasting mark on history. Mrs. Nixon personified a 
deep reverence for the cherished American traditions of community 
service, voluntarism, and personal responsibility to one another.
    As First Lady, she was indeed a lady of ``firsts.'' She was the 
first First Lady to represent the President of the United States on an 
official overseas visit. She was the first incumbent First Lady to 
publicly support the equal rights amendment. And she was an early 
advocate of promoting a woman to the U.S. Supreme Court.
    While always dignified and gracious, Mrs. Nixon was also a 
passionate believer in volunteer service and the importance of Americans 
helping one another. The appearance of the White House today and its 
accessibility to visitors at special times each year owe themselves in 
large degree to her generous and creative efforts. During her first 
Thanksgiving as First Lady she invited 225 senior citizens from area 
nursing homes to the White House for a special meal. She invited 
hundreds of families to nondenominational Sunday services in the East 
Room. And she offered the White House as a meeting place for volunteer 
organizations dedicated to solving community problems.
    Mrs. Nixon, a mother of two, was also a loyal and steadfast believer 
in family. She traveled extensively with her husband across the Nation 
and abroad and was widely praised for her diplomatic gestures overseas. 
As she said in 1971, ``We've always been a team.'' We are heartened that 
former President Nixon and Mrs. Nixon were able to celebrate their 53d 
wedding anniversary yesterday. Our thoughts are with Mrs. Nixon's family 
today as we remember her many accomplishments and contributions to the 
Nation.