Flags lowered at Reagan library in Simi Valley in honor of Nancy Reagan's memory

President Barack Obama ordered Monday that the U.S. flag be flown at half-staff until sunset on the day of her intement “as a mark of respect for the memory of Nancy Reagan.”

The former first lady died early Sunday of congestive heart failure at her Bel Air home. She was 94.

At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the U.S. flag, along with the Califoia state and library flag, was lowered to half-staff shortly before 10 this moing.

“It’s a somber day,” said Scott Zimmer, chief of security at the Reagan library shortly after he lowered the U.S. flag.

Obama’s decision to lower the flag is “a great tribute to Mrs. Reagan and her legacy,” said Melissa Giller, spokeswoman for the library.

“And we’re thankful that (Obama’s) making that something for all the U.S. to do,” she said.

The flag shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and at all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, on all naval vessels of the U.S. govement in Washington, D.C., and throughout the country and its territories until sunset on the day of her intement, Obama said in Monday’s proclamation.

The flag will also be flown at half-staff at U.S. embassies, consular offices and other facilities abroad, including military facilities and naval vessels and stations, according to the proclamation.

Giller said she expects an aouncement to be made about the date of Reagan’s memorial sometime on Monday.

The library will remain closed until one day after her funeral in order to prepare for the invitation-only event. Reagan will be buried next to her husband, Ronald Reagan, who was the 40th president of the United States.

In a statement Sunday, Obama said Reagan “redefined the role” of first lady during her time at the White House.

“Later, in her long goodbye with President Reagan, she became a voice on behalf of millions of families going through the depleting, aching reality of Alzheimer’s, and took on a new role, as advocate, on behalf of treatments that hold the potential and the promise to improve and save lives,” Obama said.

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