February 22, 2016 Notes: Nancy Tuckerman was social secretary to Jackie in 1963, after the resignation of Letitia Baldrige. “Tucky,” as she was called by Jackie, had been a close friend since their prep-school days at the Chapin School, where they first met, and at Miss Porter’s School, in Farmington, Connecticut.

During her stint at Miss Porter’s, her and Tucky got into a great deal of trouble (Mostly due to Jackie’s mind). Once, Jackie got the brilliant idea of teaching Nancy how to ride her horse Danseuse (Danny). Mind you, in those days, it was forbidden for a young girl to ride a horse without parental permission (which Tucky did not have). This didn’t hamper Jackie’s plans, so she forced a reluctant Tucky to get on Danny, only to have the stable’s dinner bell to be rung, causing Danny to take off for the barn to satisfy his hunger.

Tucky got thrown off, hurting her arm, and she didn’t want to go to the infirmary because she would get into big trouble. But, Jackie told her to tell the nurse, “you fell out of a tree” so she did and Nancy later said, “And of course, it worked.” Everyone walked away blameless!

In the dark days after the assassination, Tuckerman helped organized Jackie's responses to more than 800,000 condolence letters that flooded the White House. She was Jackie's only official spokesperson in her later years, and provided polite and guarded media updates, even during Jackie's final days.

She wrote the introduction to Sotheby's auction catalog featuring Jackie's personal belongings. Jackie left $250,000 to Nancy her longtime friend, spokeswoman and "confidante," as Onassis described her in the will.

Tuckerman has authored several books including In the Tiffany Style and The Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette.

Image copyright Jake Gariepy (Dapper and Dreamy)