A Tribute to Pat Nixon on the 100th Anniversary of Her Birth (March 16, 2012)
Early YearsBorn Thelma Catherine Ryan on March 16, 1912, in Ely, Nevada, “Pat” Nixon acquired her nickname from her father who called her his “St. Patrick’s babe in the morn.” The Ryan family moved to California and settled on a small truck farm near Los Angeles—a life of hard work with few luxuries. When her mother died in 1925, 13-year-old Pat assumed hous