Obit watch: January 7, 2026.

Michael Reagan, Ronald Reagan’s son with Jane Wyman. He was 80.

As the chairman and president of the Reagan Legacy Foundation, he supported causes and topics his father heralded in working to preserve the former president’s legacy, according to the foundation’s website.
In a letter on the foundation’s site, Mr. Reagan said he was most proud of his father’s “steadfast dedication to individual liberty and global democracy and the positive impact these values had upon our nation and our world.”
He often worked as a radio host, sometimes filling in on the talk radio host Michael Jackson’s show and had his own program, “The Michael Reagan Show.” In addition, he wrote many columns for various outlets, including Newsmax, the right-wing cable channel and site.

This is a few days old, but I’ve been holding it until I had enough obits to do a round-up: Diane Crump.

On Feb. 7, 1969, Crump became the first professional female jockey to compete at a track in the United States where betting was legal. A month later, she won the first of her 228 career victories, which brought her mounts earnings of nearly $1.3 million.
She won 24 races that year, even though her reception in the male-dominated world of horse racing remained mostly unenthusiastic. She went on to become the first female jockey to ride in the Triple Crown’s most prestigious race, the Kentucky Derby, on May 2, 1970.

And, finally, last and least: Aldrich Ames is burning in Hell. LawDog.

The son of an alcoholic C.I.A. officer, Mr. Ames failed upward through the agency ranks for 17 years until he attained a headquarters post of extraordinary sensitivity.

The K.G.B. took care of him — he was paid at least $2,705,000 — and it took care of its own turncoats. As many as 10 Soviet and Soviet-bloc spies were arrested, interrogated and executed for treason. One was imprisoned. At least two escaped, one step ahead of their pursuers. The network that had provided the United States with political, military, diplomatic and intelligence insights on Moscow was destroyed.

Leave a Reply