Being first lady is the hardest unpaid job in the world.

The library includes a Pat Nixon room a Pat Nixon amphitheater and rose gardens planted with the red-black Pat Nixon Rose developed by a French company in 1972 when Pat Nixon was first lady. Her public appearances became increasingly rare later in life. Life in the White House
After her husband was elected president in 1968 Pat Nixon met with the outgoing First Lady Lady Bird Johnson and toured the private quarters of the White House on December 12.

She accompanied the President as the first First Lady to visit China and the Soviet Union and her solo trips to Africa and South America gained her recognition as "Madame Ambassador"; Pat Nixon was the first First Lady to enter a combat zone as well. She assisted her husband in both his unsuccessful 1960 presidential campaign and later in his successful presidential campaign of 1968. She paid for her schooling by working multiple jobs including pharmacy manager typist X-ray technician and retail clerk.