Who was Sandra Day O’Connor married to? Familial life explored as first female Supreme Court justice dies aged 93

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to sit on the US Supreme Court, passed away at the age of 93 on Friday morning, December 1, 2023, in Phoenix, Arizona, from complications related to dementia and a respiratory illness.

The Supreme Court announced the news of her demise in a statement the same day. As per The Guardian, she served as a justice for more than 24 years until her retirement in 2006.

The former attorney is survived by her three children, Scott O'Connor, Brian O'Connor, and Jay O'Connor. Sandra left the bench to take care of her husband, John Jay O'Connor, who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. According to the BBC, he passed away on November 11, 2009.

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Sandra Day O’Connor's family explored as she died at 93

Sandra Day O’Connor was one of the most powerful women in the country at the time of decisions relating to abortion, affirmative action, s*x discrimination, and voting rights.

She was born in El Paso, Texas, on March 26, 1930, and lived most of her life in Arizona. She grew up on her family's cattle ranch near Duncan. Sandra Day O'Connor studied at Stanford Law School and graduated third in her class in 1952. She was the first woman to lead the Arizona state senate, as per the BBC.

In 1952, Sandra Day O’Connor married her husband, John Jay O'Connor III, after her graduation. In 1955, John joined the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the U.S. Army, stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. Sandra went with him, becoming a civilian attorney for the Army, as per AZ Central.

The couple returned to the U.S. in 1958 and rented an apartment near 19th Avenue and Camelback Road, welcoming their first son, Scott. Their other two sons were born in Brian in 1960 and Jay in 1962, after their move to Paradise Valley.

The politician served as a state court judge before being nominated to the country’s highest court by Ronald Reagan. In 1981, she became a justice after being unanimously confirmed at the age of 51. The couple lived together for 57 years until John's demise in 2009.

According to The New York Times, Sandra Day O’Connor retired in 2006 at the age of 75 after serving as a justice for 24 years. When she was 88, in October 2018, the former justice revealed that she had been diagnosed with the beginning stages of dementia, “probably Alzheimer’s disease.” She decided to withdraw from public life after that. She died on December 1, 2023.

Sandra Day O’Connor spoke briefly about the struggles of being a woman of power during her early years in an interview with the International Bar Association in 2011. In her first job, she revealed she had agreed to work for nothing, with no office, as a county attorney in San Mateo, California. According to The Guardian, she said:

"No-one gave me a job. It was very frustrating because I had done very well in both undergraduate and law school and my male classmates weren't having any problems."

Her votes were significant in the Supreme Court cases about abortion, affirmative action, and campaign finance. There was a particularly important decision in the Bush v. Gore decision that effectively settled the disputed 2000 election in favor of George W. Bush.

President George W. Bush appointed Justice Samuel Alito as her replacement in 2006. Sandra Day O’Connor spent her life after her retirement by starting an education organization, iCivics, which served as a visiting federal appeals court judge. As per the BBC, the former justice also wrote five books throughout her life.