STATEMENT BY FRED RYAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL FOUNDATION AND INSTITUTE ON THE DEATH OF THEODORE B. OLSON

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Reagan Foundation and Institute mourns the loss of Theodore (Ted) Olson, an American lawyer and the former United States Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel under President Ronald Reagan and the former United States Solicitor General under President George W. Bush, who has served on the Board of Trustees for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute since 2009.

Ted Olson has argued more than sixty cases in front of the Supreme Court, winning most, while also winning the respect and admiration of the Justices. His wisdom, candor, and willingness to help – no matter how busy he was – made him an invaluable member of the Foundation and Institute’s Board of Trustees.

Ted Olson wasn’t just President Reagan’s attorney – he was his friend and confidant, and that friendship and bond only grew stronger after Ronald Reagan left office. The President often credited him for keeping his spirits up when times were tough and President and Mrs. Reagan tried to return the favor when Mr. Olson lost his wife, Barbara, who was onboard the hijacked airplane that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Mrs. Reagan recalled him as being stoic, but she knew from her personal conversations with him that he was a man who had lost an irretrievable piece of his soul at the hands of terrorists.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ted Olson’s wife, Lady Booth, and to their entire family.

SOURCE The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute