Franklyn "Lyn" Nofziger, Requiescat in pace.

From Washington's other newspaper:

Lyn Nofziger, 81, the rumpled, irreverent political strategist and public affairs adviser who served at Ronald Reagan's right hand both in the California capitol and in the White House, died yesterday of cancer at his home in Falls Church.

An offbeat figure who wore Mickey Mouse ties with the knot pulled down, Mr. Nofziger won a reputation as a shrewd, two-fisted political battler, who blended loyalty, cantankerousness and pungent phrasemaking. He was known as one of the key staff members involved in Reagan's rise from the California governor's chair to the pinnacle of American power.

A onetime reporter detached by the head of the Copley chain of newspapers to help Reagan climb the political ladder, Mr. Nofziger traced his time at the former president's side to the 1966 California gubernatorial campaign. After serving as press secretary in Reagan's successful 1980 presidential campaign, Mr. Nofziger stayed on in the White House as assistant for political affairs until Jan. 22, 1982.

Even after he opened a lobbying firm in Washington, he was known as an informal adviser to Reagan. His counsel was later sought by a variety of Republican candidates for offices that included the presidency and the statehouses in Maryland and New Jersey. He had been a White House aide to president Richard M. Nixon.

Recognizable physically by his mustache and goatee, and by the way his shirt buttons struggled to confine his ample girth, Mr. Nofziger was long recognizable politically by his adherence to what he saw as Republican principles. These were often considered conservative principles as well.

"I am a Republican," he once said, "because, like Ronald Reagan, I believe that freedom is America's most important product." (The complete obituary is here.)