Nelle Wilson Reagan - Later Life

Later Life

In 1938, after both Neil and Ronald Reagan had moved to California, Ronald bought his parents a new home in Hollywood; it was the first home they had ever owned. Nelle's life also changed after her husband Jack's death on May 18, 1941, leaving her widowed. She maintained her connections to the church in Dixon and began working at a tuberculosis sanitarium in Southern California. In her later years, however, Nelle had problems with her physical health and senility (later diagnosed as Alzheimer's disease). Speaking of her illness, she said "I just kept my mind on God." Nelle died from complications of the disease on July 25, 1962, aged 79.