{"id":16234,"date":"2019-04-15T20:46:02","date_gmt":"2019-04-16T03:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=16234"},"modified":"2019-04-17T20:48:20","modified_gmt":"2019-04-18T03:48:20","slug":"nixon-library-holds-memorial-service-for-ed-nixon-the-presidents-youngest-brother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=16234","title":{"rendered":"Nixon Library holds memorial service for Ed Nixon, the president\u2019s youngest brother"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header article-header\">\n<div class=\"header-title-area\">\n<div class=\"article-share\">\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\">\n<div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing\">\n<div class=\"sd-content\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article-content-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"header-features default\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"image-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-article_feature lazyautosizes lazyloaded\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-11-MS-1.jpg?w=504\" sizes=\"955px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-11-MS-1.jpg?w=504 620w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-11-MS-1.jpg?w=633 780w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-11-MS-1.jpg?w=827 1020w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-11-MS-1.jpg?w=763 940w\" alt=\"\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-11-MS-1.jpg?w=504\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-11-MS-1.jpg?w=504 620w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-11-MS-1.jpg?w=633 780w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-11-MS-1.jpg?w=827 1020w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-11-MS-1.jpg?w=763 940w\" \/><\/div><figcaption>Members of Newport Harbor American Legion Post 291, fold the flag before presenting it to the grandchildren of Edward Nixon in Yorba Linda on Sunday, April 14, 2019. Nixon, who died on Feb. 27, was last surviving brother of President Richard Nixon. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register\/SCNG)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"meta\"><i class=\"icon-comment\"><\/i><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline\">By\u00a0<a class=\" author-name\" title=\"Posts by Lou Ponsi\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/author\/lou-ponsi\/\" rel=\"author\">LOU PONSI<\/a>\u00a0|<\/div>\n<div class=\"time\">PUBLISHED:\u00a0<time datetime=\"2019-04-14 15:40:25\">April 14, 2019 at 3:40 pm<\/time>\u00a0| UPDATED:\u00a0<time class=\"updated\" datetime=\"2019-04-15 17:30:14\">April 15, 2019 at 5:30 pm<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<div class=\"body-copy\">\n<p>Ed Nixon was proud of his older brother, President Richard Nixon. He worked to help get the 37th president elected and to promote the president\u2019s legacy after his death.<\/p>\n<p>But Ed Nixon also etched his own path, leaving his own legacy as a Navy aviator, geologist, global energy expert and as a husband and father.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-slideshow\">\n<div class=\"slick-list draggable\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<div class=\"slick-track\" role=\"listbox\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"slick-slide slick-cloned\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-index=\"13\" data-slick-index=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-article_inline lazyautosizes lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-01-MS.jpg?w=620\" sizes=\"711px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-01-MS.jpg?w=620 620w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-01-MS.jpg?w=780 780w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-01-MS.jpg?w=810 810w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-01-MS.jpg?w=630 630w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-01-MS.jpg?w=620\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-01-MS.jpg?w=620 620w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-01-MS.jpg?w=780 780w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-01-MS.jpg?w=810 810w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-01-MS.jpg?w=630 630w\" \/><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"slick-slide slick-current slick-active\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"option\" data-index=\"1\" data-slick-index=\"0\" aria-hidden=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"slick-slide00\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-article_inline lazyautosizes lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-03-MS.jpg?w=620\" sizes=\"711px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-03-MS.jpg?w=620 620w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-03-MS.jpg?w=780 780w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-03-MS.jpg?w=810 810w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-03-MS.jpg?w=630 630w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-03-MS.jpg?w=620\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-03-MS.jpg?w=620 620w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-03-MS.jpg?w=780 780w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-03-MS.jpg?w=810 810w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-03-MS.jpg?w=630 630w\" \/><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"slick-slide\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"option\" data-index=\"2\" data-slick-index=\"1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" aria-describedby=\"slick-slide01\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-article_inline lazyautosizes lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-09-MS.jpg?w=620\" sizes=\"711px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-09-MS.jpg?w=620 620w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-09-MS.jpg?w=780 780w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-09-MS.jpg?w=810 810w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-09-MS.jpg?w=630 630w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-09-MS.jpg?w=620\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-09-MS.jpg?w=620 620w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-09-MS.jpg?w=780 780w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-09-MS.jpg?w=810 810w,https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/OCR-L-EDNIXON-0415-09-MS.jpg?w=630 630w\" \/><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p class=\"slideshow-caption\">The granddaughter of Edward Nixon, Jill Matheny, is presented the flag during a memorial service in Yorba Linda on Sunday, April 14, 2019. Nixon, the youngest and last surviving brother of President Richard Nixon, died on Feb. 27. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register\/SCNG)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The life and achievements of Nixon were celebrated during a memorial service in his honor on Sunday, April 14, at the Nixon Presidential Library &amp; Museum.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/2019\/02\/27\/ed-nixon-last-surviving-brother-of-president-richard-nixon-dies-at-age-88\/\">The youngest and last surviving brother of Richard Nixon died Feb. 27<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0at a nursing home in Bothell, Washington. He was 88 years old.<\/p>\n<p>About 200 guests gathered in the Pat Nixon Amphitheater on the Nixon Library grounds for the simple, yet polished service which featured the singing of the national anthem, a gun salute, an American flag presentation and the playing of \u201cTaps.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ed Nixon\u2019s two daughters, Amelie Peiffer and Elizabeth Matheny, and two granddaughters, Jilly Matheny and Karina Johnson, were in attendance, as was Melanie Eisenhower, President Nixon\u2019s granddaughter.<\/p>\n<p>Ed Nixon was born in 1930 after Frank and Hannah Nixon had moved their family to Whittier. He was the only Nixon boy not born in the Yorba Linda home now part of the library grounds.<\/p>\n<p>Maureen Drown Nunn, who served with Ed Nixon on the Nixon Foundation\u2019s board of directors was among three to give eulogies sharing their recollections of Ed Nixon.<\/p>\n<p>Nunn recalled Nixon telling a story about being 9 years old and taking a 39-hour train ride to Detroit with his big brother, Richard Nixon, then 26, to pick up a new 1939 Oldsmobile from the factory.<\/p>\n<p>On the drive back to California, Richard Nixon made it a point to stop at many of the country\u2019s natural wonders and historic sites along the way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEd was so inspired and so transfixed, that he decided to become a scientist,\u201d Nunn said. \u201cHe was so smart and so creative and so passionate about the role science and geology can play in the extracting of natural resources as potential for alternative energy sources.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ed Nixon worked on his brother\u2019s presidential campaigns in 1968 and 1972 and served as co-chairman of the Nixon re-election committee in 1972.<\/p>\n<p>After President Nixon\u2019s visit to China in 1972, a key first step in establishing relations between the two countries, Ed Nixon made more than 30 diplomatic trips to the country.<\/p>\n<p>Zhang Ping, consul general of the People\u2019s Republic of China in Los Angeles, was also among the guests at the memorial.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Nixon was loved everywhere he went,\u201d said John Gong, a member of the Nixon Foundation who served as chief representative to Ed Nixon during his last visit to China in 2012. \u201cHis personality and \u00a0wisdom attracted people to become his friend. He was an extremely thoughtful, kind and compassionate person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ed Nixon was an original member of the Richard Nixon Foundation\u2019s board of directors and involved in the presidential library in Yorba Linda from the beginning.<\/p>\n<p>Through the years, Ed Nixon was a frequent participant in activities at the library, including in a middle school program featuring actors playing roles of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other notable presidents.\u00a0Ed Nixon participated several times playing his brother.<\/p>\n<p>In 2009, Ed Nixon released his memoir, \u201cThe Nixons: A Family Portrait,\u201d co-written with Karen Olsen.<\/p>\n<p>The book was launched at the Nixon Library on President\u2019s Day in 2009.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor both of us, the book was a labor of love,\u201d said Olsen, who went on book signing tours with Nixon for 10 years.\u00a0\u201cEd indeed left footprints of \u00a0love.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Members of Newport Harbor American Legion&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16235,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16234\/revisions\/16235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}