John Jay O'Connor III (January 10, 1930 – November 11, 2009) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and the husband of

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

Associate Justice

Sandra Day O'Connor Sandra Day O'Connor (born March 26, 1930) is an American retired attorney and politician who served as the first female associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. She was both the first woman nominated and th ...

, the first woman to serve on the court. O'Connor, a prominent lawyer in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, suffered from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

during his later life. His illness played a significant role in Sandra Day O'Connor's decision to retire from the Supreme Court in 2005.

Life and career

O'Connor was born on January 10, 1930, in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. His parents were John Jay O'Connor II and Sally Flynn O'Connor. He was of

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...

descent and attended St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco. He obtained his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1951, and later received a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

, also from Stanford, in 1953. O'Connor met his future wife,

Sandra Day Sandra Day O'Connor (born March 26, 1930) is a retired American lawyer, former politician, and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. O'Connor was the first woman to serve as a U.S. ...

, while both were law review editors and students at Stanford Law School. The couple married in 1952. O'Connor served within the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corp following his graduation from law school. He was stationed in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, from 1954 until 1956. Mrs O'Connor was employed in the

Quartermaster Corps Following is a list of Quartermaster Corps, military units, active and defunct, with logistics duties: * Egyptian Army Quartermaster Corps - see Structure of the Egyptian Army * Hellenic Army Quartermaster Corps (''Σώμα Φροντιστών ...

as a

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

lawyer. O'Connor returned to the United States and moved to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. There he joined the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

of Fennemore, Craig, von Ammon, McClennen & Udall. Following Sandra Day O'Connor's appointment to the United States Supreme Court by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, O'Connor moved with his family to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He continued to practice law with two firms,

Miller & Chevalier Miller & Chevalier is a Washington, D.C. law firm founded in 1920. They have practices in Tax, Employee Benefits (including ERISA), International Law and Business, White Collar and Internal Investigations, Complex Litigation, and Government Aff ...

and

Bryan Cave Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP is an international law firm with 25 offices worldwide. Bryan Cave was headquartered in St Louis, Missouri. Berwin Leighton Paisner was headquartered in London. In 2018, Bryan Cave and Berwin Leighton Paisner me ...

, while living in Washington. O'Connor was diagnosed with Alzheimer's nearly twenty years before his death. His deteriorating health played a significant role in Sandra Day O'Connor's decision to retire from the Supreme Court in 2005. O'Connor died of Alzheimer's disease on November 11, 2009, in

, at the age of 79.

References

External links

Los Angeles Times: John J. O'Connor III dies at 79; attorney and husband of former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, John Jay 1930 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American lawyers Spouses of Arizona politicians Lawyers from Phoenix, Arizona Lawyers from San Francisco Military personnel from California Stanford University alumni Neurological disease deaths in Arizona Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Sandra Day O'Connor