SACRAMENTO, Aug. 18 -- Maureen Reagan, daughter of the former president, was praised at her funeral today as a bold, tenacious woman who stepped out of her father's shadow to crusade against Alzheimer's disease.
Reagan, 60, died Aug. 8 at her home after a nine-month battle with skin cancer that had progressed from a melanoma diagnosis in 1996 to tumors in her hip and brain. She was the former president's oldest daughter.
"She had an infectious smile and a twinkle in her eye, and what a laugh," said the Rev. J. Andrew Herman of Sacramento, who officiated at the three-hour public service. "And didn't she give the greatest hugs?"
Reagan became a national spokeswoman for the Alzheimer's Association after her father announced in 1994 that he had the disease. She traveled the nation in the final years of her life, ignoring her own declining health as she spread the word about Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers.
She was "the Joan of Arc of Alzheimer's," said Orien Reid, who chairs the Alzheimer's Association's board of directors. "She came on like a bull in a china closet."
Actor David Hyde Pierce of TV's "Frasier," who worked with Reagan through the Alzheimer's Association, spoke with a quivering voice of his friend's devotion to fighting the debilitating illness.
"Maureen took care of people -- took in the sense of taking charge, taking control, taking the reins," he told mourners. "And when she was given lemons, she did not make lemonade; she took the lemons, threw them back and said, 'Oh, no you don't.' "
Reagan's maple casket, decorated with a spray of pink roses and white mums, was borne by Secret Service agents into the 112-year-old Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The agents all had been assigned to Reagan at one point.
Reagan's mother, Jane Wyman, balancing on a cane, put a cross on the casket. Stepmother Nancy Reagan placed the Book of Gospels on the coffin.
The former president stayed behind at his Bel-Air home.
"He would be confused. With what he's got going on in his own life, attending would do more harm," son Michael Reagan said last week.
During Mass, Reagan's siblings, Patti Davis and Ron Reagan, stood to read prayer.
Michael Reagan, fighting back tears, recalled a moment 56 years ago when young Maureen was taken to a Hollywood drugstore by her parents.
"She put her money on the counter and said, 'I want a brother,' " said Michael, who was adopted a year later.
"Thank you for always watching over me," he said.
In a videotaped message, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni praised Reagan for her interest in human rights in his country. Reagan's adopted daughter, Rita, 16, is Ugandan.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman paid tribute to Reagan's indomitable personality.
"If one could harness the energy of a Maureen Reagan, I can assure you that California would never have another brownout," the former New Jersey governor said, drawing laughter. "She set new standards on how women could and should be involved in the political arena."
Arizona Sen. John McCain, a Republican and close family friend, said Reagan possessed "a generous heart" and "much of her father's extraordinary ability to communicate her beliefs and abiding passions."
A Republican since childhood -- she knocked on doors for Dwight Eisenhower's 1952 presidential campaign -- Reagan co-chaired the Republican National Committee from 1987 to 1989 and twice sought public office herself.
An outspoken feminist, she sometimes clashed with her father politically over abortion rights and an equal rights amendment to the Constitution.
Despite their disagreements, they were remembered as fiercely loyal to each other.
In lieu of flowers, Reagan's family asked that donations be sent to the Maureen Reagan Tribute Fund at the Alzheimer's Association.
Maureen Reagan's sister Patti Davis, left, and stepmother Nancy Reagan enter Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento for Maureen Reagan's funeral yesterday.Maureen Reagan's mother, Jane Wyman, is escorted by Maureen's husband, Dennis Revell.
