Members of the public filed past Nancy Reagan’s coffin again on Thursday to pay their respects before the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is closed to prepare for the former first lady’s funeral.
By late morning a long line had formed in a parking lot where shuttles picked up people for the ride to the library.
More than 3,000 people came to the library in hill country northwest of Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Mourners have had sunny skies and balmy temperatures, but that was expected to change for Friday’s 11 a.m. funeral, which could see wet and windy weather.
The National Weather Service predicted partly cloudy skies in the morning, followed by rain and a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon with winds from 15 mph to 25 mph. The outdoor funeral area has been tented.
Nancy Reagan’s two children, Patti Davis and Ronald Prescott Reagan, will be among the speakers at the funeral, which will include choirs and a Marine Corps band.
Prominent attendees will include first lady Michelle Obama, former President George W. Bush and his wife, former first lady Laura Bush. Former first ladies Rosalynn Carter and Hillary Clinton will also attend.
James A. Baker, who served in President Reagan’s administration, and former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw also will give remarks during the private ceremony officiated by the Rev. Stuart Kenworthy, vicar of Washington National Cathedral.
Wednesday’s public viewing drew people from long distances.
Roy Dillard drove more than 100 miles with two of his daughters and his 3-year-old great-granddaughter to pay their respects to Nancy Reagan and honor the legacy of what he called “the greatest president of my lifetime.”
Dillard’s daughter Bobbie Eldridge said she admired how the first lady “stood by her man, the great and beautiful love that they had and how she became his caretaker” in old age. She and her 80-year-old father drove from Bakersfield to the library in Simi Valley.
Retired teacher Mary Ellen Gruendyke drove nearly as far from her Riverside home, appearing with a colorful Ronald Reagan souvenir scarf around her neck.
“Ronald Reagan was one of the best presidents we’ve ever had,” Gruendyke said, “and I admired them both as a couple for their love story and the support they showed to each other.”
In the library lobby, mourners walked quietly in a circle around the casket covered in white roses and peonies — Nancy Reagan’s favorite flower.
Wednesday began at a Santa Monica funeral home with a 45-mile motorcade that carried Nancy Reagan’s casket to the library, where a military honor guard carried the casket between two identical towering portraits of the former first lady wearing a long, red dress and then past a gurgling courtyard fountain.
The casket was placed behind a bronze statue of a smiling Ronald Reagan holding a cowboy hat.
Nancy Reagan died Sunday at 94. She will be laid to rest just inches from the president in the library’s hillside tomb, facing west toward the Pacific Ocean.
Former Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., and his wife Janice pause as they pay their respects beside the casket of Nancy Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Wednesday, March 9, 2016 in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool)
Kimberly Leif, of Simi Valley, Calif., cries in front of the casket of Nancy Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley on Wednesday, March 9, 2016. Reagan began her final journey to her husband’s side Wednesday as a police motorcade carried her casket down an empty freeway lined with saluting firefighters and mourners holding hands over their hearts in tribute to the former first lady. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) MANDATORY CREDIT
The casket carrying the former first lady Nancy Reagan leaves a small ceremony at a mortuary, Wednesday, March 9, 2016, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Firefighters salute as the hearse carrying the body of Nancy Reagan makes its way to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Wednesday, March 9, 2016, near Porter Ranch, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool)
Firefighters salute as the hearse carrying the body of Nancy Reagan makes its way to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Wednesday, March 9, 2016, in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Flowers are placed on the casket of Nancy Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Wednesday, March 9, 2016 in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool)
House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. stands near the casket of Nancy Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Wednesday, March 9, 2016 in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool)
A woman wipes a tear away as she pauses beside the casket of Nancy Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Wednesday, March 9, 2016 in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool)
Stella Delgado, left, and her mother Yoko Santos pause as they pay their respects beside the casket of Nancy Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Wednesday, March 9, 2016 in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool)
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Our beautiful Nancy Reagan is laid to rest beside her adoring husband, Ronald. Our country will miss them. They were such good examples of love and patriotism. That we could have another presidency like theirs seems a dream. Our shining home on the hill is rapidly disappearing. May God have mercy on America.
My sentiments too. So glad they are reunited though.
Nancy Reagan was truly one of the best first ladies of my time & showed love for her country along with her husband & one of our best presidents & the loved they showed for each other showed out right for America to see, God Bless & RIP Nancy & Ronnie!
Nancy and Ronald Reagan provided much needed leadership for our nation at a time when many thought our country’s best days were behind it. Both were great Americans who helped shape our country in a profound way. Their contributions truly changed the world for the better.
God Bless our great President Ronald Reagan and his beautiful wife Nancy. I’m glad she is now reunited with her precious “Ronnie”. What a contrast with the current occupant of our White House. I’m glad that hack didn’t go to the funeral. He is unworthy to be a part of this tribute.
What can be said of the heads of the Reagan family that has not already been said.
They have been and will always be (in memory) one of the best examples of American history. They both will live in the hearts of all of us whom lived and, were lucky enough to partake in the dignity and respect that they instilled upon other nations towards America.
They will for ever live in the hearts of all of us.
J.Salomon
Miami, Fl.
IF I COULD HAVE MY WISH TODAY IT WOULD BE THAT WE COULD HAVE THIS VERY SPECIAL COUPLE BACK IN THE WHITE HOUSE AS YOUNG AN AS GREAT AS THEY WERE WHEN THEY WERE IN THE WHITE HOUSE.