One year ago: Jane Dalton Weinberger

Jane Dalton Weinberger did not waste her close-up view of Washington's political elite during the Reagan administration.

The wife of President Reagan's defense secretary, Caspar W. Weinberger, she founded a company that published more than 100 titles and was herself an author, with books such as "As Ever" in 1991.

"As Ever" was a compilation of letters to family and friends over the years with some pointed views about such personalities as former Vice President Spiro Agnew and then-First Lady Nancy Reagan.

"She was a Maine lady all the way through. She had no airs," said her son, Caspar Jr. "She was also a very elegant lady who . . . played the Washington scene better than anyone I ever saw." She died a year ago at 91.

Her obituary by The Times' Elaine Woo appeared July 15, 2009.

-- Keith Thursby

Photo: Jane Dalton Weinberger in 1986.

Credit: Los Angeles Times