Gathering of Clan Warms Up Cold Inaugural

Nancy Reagan and enough members of the First Family to make the White House feel like “the Normandy invasion” crammed into the Capitol Rotunda with 1,000 other dignitaries today to see President Reagan take his oath for a second term.

Fifteen members of the Reagan clan, with only son-in-law Paul Grilley missing, gathered to help warm up one of the coldest inaugurals on record.

Mrs. Reagan sat next to her husband in the Rotunda, while the rest of the family crowded into the standing space with about 1,000 other dignitaries.

The entire family attended church services, with the exception of 20-month-old grandchild Ashley.

The Reagans planned to appear briefly at each of the nine inaugural balls tonight.

But daughter Patti Davis was to leave for California later today, skipping the dances. Business forced her husband of five months, Paul Grilley, to miss the ceremony and remain on the West Coast.

Son Ron Reagan and his wife, Doria, also were passing up the balls to have some of their friends over to the White House family quarters tonight.

Mrs. Reagan said she was pleased to have her whole family in Washington for the occasion.

“I’ve got a White House that’s bulging,” she said on CBS’ “Morning News.” “I feel like I’m having a Normandy invasion. They’re darling, wonderful children.”

The picture of togetherness that emerged from the White House stood in contrast to the headlines generated by a very public display of friction between the First Lady and Michael Reagan, her stepson. But a family summit in California over New Year’s appeared to patch up the differences.

Daughter Maureen Reagan and her husband, Dennis Revell, had an active social schedule during the weekend. Michael Reagan, his wife, Colleen, and their children made their first visit to the White House in four years. During the ceremony, Michael snapped candid pictures of his father just before he began his speech.