The late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will lie in repose at the Supreme Court on Dec. 18, with a private funeral the next day, according to the high court’s press office.
A private ceremony will take place at the court Dec. 18, and the public can pay their respects afterward from 10:30 am to 8 p.m.
Her invitation-only funeral will be held at the National Cathedral the following day.
The Supreme Court announced Friday that Justice O’Connor had died at age 93, noting that she had “advanced dementia, probably Alzheimer’s and a respiratory illness.”
The Supreme Court hung black drapes over the courtroom door Monday in remembrance of Justice O’Connor, a tradition that dates 150 years to the death of Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase. The drapes are typically left in place for 30 days.
In 2018, Justice O’Connor announced she had been diagnosed with dementia and would no longer be appearing in public due to her condition.
She was appointed to the court by President Reagan in 1981 and confirmed unanimously by the Senate. She was the first woman to sit on the bench, with five more to follow: the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Justice O’Connor served until 2006 and was a moderate member of the court. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. took her vacated seat.
Her husband, John O’Connor, died in 2009. She is survived by her three sons and six grandchildren.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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