Maureen Reagan dies of cancer at 60

Maureen Reagan was the daughter of actress Jane Wyman and former President Ronald Reagan.

GRANITE BAY, California (CNN) -- Maureen Reagan, daughter of former President Ronald Reagan, died Wednesday at her home outside Sacramento after a battle with cancer.

Reagan, 60, had been undergoing radiation treatments for a malignant melanoma that had spread to her brain. She was the former president's daughter with his first wife, actress Jane Wyman.

"Maureen had his gift of communication, his love of politics, and when she believed in a cause, she was not afraid to fight hard for it," Nancy Reagan said in a statement. "Ronnie and I loved Mermie very much. We will miss her terribly."

Maureen Reagan had battled skin cancer since 1996 and learned last month the tumors had spread to her brain. She is survived by her husband, Dennis Revell, and her 16-year-old daughter, Rita.

VIDEO Reagan was more than just the daughter of a president. CNN's Anne McDermott reviews her life (August 8) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   EXTRA INFORMATION PHOTO GALLERY: Remembering Maureen Reagan   Statement from Nancy Reagan     RESOURCES • Information about melanoma   • MESSAGE BOARD: Maureen Reagan      MAUREEN REAGAN BORN: January 4, 1941, the daughter of former President Ronald Reagan and actress Jane Wyman FAMILY: Married to Dennis Revell; one child, Rita, an adopted 16-year-old daughter from Uganda CAREER: Ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in 1982 and U.S. House seat in 1992 Co-chaired the Republican National Committee from 1987-89 Created a political action committee that supported more than 100 female candidates Chaired the U.S. delegation to the 1995 World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women Worked as political analyst, radio talk show host, commentator and author of "First Father, First Daughter: A memoir." Source: AP

Reagan was admitted to the hospital July 6. Doctors discovered two lesions on her brain following tests to determine why she was suffering spasms and mild seizures.

Former Reagan presidential aide Michael Deaver called her an "extremely energetic" woman who "never hesitated to give you her opinion."

Most of all, Deaver said, she will be remembered for her undying love for her father, who has battled Alzheimer's disease since 1994.

"The thing was this loyalty for her father in whatever part of his life, including the last part of her life, when she was so dedicated to finding a cure for this terrible disease that had stricken her father and family," Deaver said.

Reagan was a member of the Alzheimer’s Association board of directors and served as the group’s spokeswoman. She got involved with the group after her father revealed he had been stricken with the disease.

She once wrote that a 1993 conversation with her father should have triggered concern about his health. She said she was talking with her father about a movie he made in the 1950s, "Prisoner of War."

"Finally he looked at me and said, 'Mermie, I have no recollection of making that movie,'" she said.

Maureen Reagan called that moment her first "click of awareness" about her father's illness. "No actor ever forgets a role," she wrote, "so I should have realized something was wrong." A year later the former president was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and withdrew from public life.

Ginny Helms with the Alzheimer's Association said Maureen Reagan helped bring the need for a cure of the disease to the forefront, allowing Americans to see how the disease "affects families and caregivers and what they're going through."

"With Maureen you really got a sense of how it impacted her family, but she also was just so gracious in how she handled it," Helms said.

President Bush, whose father served as Reagan's vice president, offered condolences to Reagan's family Wednesday.

"Maureen was a devoted, caring daughter and mother," Bush said. "She fought tirelessly to increase funding for Alzheimer's research and raise public awareness of the disease."

Reagan's history of activism led her to run unsuccessfully for the Senate in 1982 and House in 1992, both in California.

A one-time Democrat, she became a Republican during her teen years and later pointed out she had been a Republican longer than her father. But, unlike her father, she supported abortion rights: She called the issue one between "a woman and her God."

Probably the only thing resembling a public clash between Ronald and Maureen Reagan came when Maureen entered the senatorial primary in California. Asked his thoughts on his daughter's possible entry into elective politics, the president replied that he hoped she would not do it.

This came across to many people, including Maureen, as a rebuke, but she said the president clarified his comment in private and voted for his daughter in the primary. She later served a term as co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

Before her July hospitalization, Reagan told CNN's Larry King she had rebounded after nearly dying from the skin cancer, which had spread to her spine.

She said the treatment she had received over several months at the John Wayne Cancer Institute of St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, "seems to have worked," and she was discharged in June. At one point, her father was undergoing treatment for a broken hip in the same facility at one point.

A public memorial service and mass was scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Sacramento. The service will be followed by a private graveside service.