First lady Michelle Obama will attend the funeral of Nancy Reagan on Friday, a White House official said Monday.
The former first lady will be laid to rest beside her husband during a private ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.
President Obama will not attend the funeral. He is scheduled to appear at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, on Friday.
{mosads}Earlier Monday, the president heaped praise on Reagan, saying she “could not have been more gracious and more charming” to his wife and him when they first entered the White House in 2009.
“As somebody who is lucky enough to have an extraordinary partner in my life as well, I know how much she meant not just to President Reagan but to the country as a whole,” Obama told reporters. “He was lucky to have her. … She will be missed.”
The president hosted Reagan at the White House in 2009 for a bill signing for legislation establishing a commission to hold a 100th anniversary celebration of Ronald Reagan’s life.
Obama ordered flags at the White House and all federal buildings to be flown at half staff until sunset Friday in honor of the former first lady.
Reagan died on Sunday of congestive heart failure. She was 94.