John O'Connor, ex-justice's husband, dies

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- John J. O'Connor III, husband of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, died Wednesday in Phoenix, the high court said. He was 79.

A lawyer, John O'Connor was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease two decades ago. When his condition deteriorated, Justice O'Connor cited her husband's illness in announcing her retirement in 2005.

Justice O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as the first woman to the Supreme Court in 1981, and she and her husband became prominent on the Washington social circuit when they moved from Arizona, The Washington Post reported.

The newspaper said after the justice retired, her husband fell in love with another patient at a Phoenix Alzheimer's facility. The Post said O'Connor handled the news "with grace" -- the change of affections is not unusual for people with Alzheimer's.

John O'Connor was born in San Francisco on Jan. 10, 1930, the son of Dr. John J. O'Connor II and Sally Flynn O'Connor, the court said. He earned a bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 1951 and a law degree from Stanford in 1953.

The O'Connor's met at the law school, and were married in 1952 at the Day family home, the Lazy B Ranch, in southeastern Arizona, the court said.

O'Connor joined the Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps and was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, but the couple returned to Phoenix in 1957, where he practiced law.

He continued to practice law in Washington.

O'Connor is survived by his wife; three sons, Scott, Brian, and Jay; and six grandchildren.