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Dec 1, 2023 · Sandra Day and John Jay O’Connor, who passed away in 2009, were both attorneys working in Phoenix when their oldest son Scott was born in 1958. Scott, like his younger brothers, was raised to...
Her relationship with her husband, our dad, John O’Connor, was one for the ages. They were the ultimate supporters and fans of one another in a marriage that lasted 57 years. Despite our colorful flaws, she loved her three sons.
- A Roadside Debate and An Adobe Home
- Two-Thirds Work For Half-Pay
- Staying Active and Involved
- 'The Activity Center' For Friends
- Denton Lane Dust Devils
- Lazy B Ranch Vacations
- Balancing Mom and Lawmaker
- Rubbing Elbows with The Powerful
- Teaching The Boys to Be Worldly
- Sending The Kids Off to College
One morning in 1958, Sandra and her husband, John Jay O'Connor, pulled their black Volkswagen Beetle off to the side of the road in Florence Junction to settle an argument. The O'Connors had spent the past three years overseas. John had joined the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the U.S. Army, stationed in Frankfurt. Sandra accompanied him, becom...
Sandra took a five-year leave from the legal profession after Brian's birth. Her children laugh at the idea that it was her "time off." On top of caring for three small boys, she volunteered and led several civic and social organizations, including the Junior League of Arizona and the Maricopa County Young Republicans. She also provided pro bono le...
The O'Connor boys walked to and from school each day, often with a musical instrument or gym bag in tow. Sandra encouraged them, and at times forced them, to remain active and involved. There was no lounging when the boys returned from school. Spare time was to be spent doing something useful. Sandra enrolled them in activities of all types: swimmi...
The O'Connors adobe home was at the end of a cul-de-sac, opening up to a massive backyard with a sport court and trampoline. It became the "activity center" for the children of Denton Lane and beyond, Scott said. After their after-school activities and homework, the boys and their friends would engage in capture-the-flag battles, fort making (they ...
The neighborhood kids started their own cycling group — "bike club," which was soon renamed "Denton Lane Dust Devils" once the Honda Mini Trail 50 debuted and "everybody in the neighborhood had to have one," Scott said. Paradise Valley had just been incorporated and had one town marshal who rode around on a motorcycle looking for trouble. He found ...
Sandra and John got a 30-day vacation from their children each summer. The boys went to theLazy B Ranchto be "pretend cowboys" with their uncle Alan Day, Sandra's brother. They'd spend the summer herding cattle, bucking hay and mending fences. They were "barely adequate at best," Scott said with a laugh. Scott said they didn't realize then how luck...
After about five years in the Attorney General's Office, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed Sandra to the Arizona Senate in 1969. The next year, she ran for and won the seat. By 1973, she was appointed Senate Majority Leader— the first woman to hold such a leadership position in a state legislature anywhere in the country. Scott sai...
At least twice a legislative session, Sandra would invite the legislators and their spouses to the adobe home on Denton Lane for a potluck. She invited all of them — not just the Republicans. "Legend has it that Mom was much more effective as a legislator when she'd been able to break the ice," Scott said. John learned everyone's favorite cocktails...
Sandra and John also were members of the World Affairs Council, entertaining foreign guests who were traveling with the U.S. State Department. The boys recalled meeting guests from nearly every continent. They were particularly struck by the Crown Prince of Swaziland, who walked into their home in traditional garb, which often includes colorful clo...
When the boys approached their high school graduations, there was some pressure from Sandra and John to take up the legal profession. Jay got a particularly hard sell on joining the family business, as both Scott and Brian already had abandoned the idea. He ended up using one of his parents' Stanford classmates to make a formal argument against bec...
- Jessica Boehm
- Homelessness And Housing Insecurity Reporter
Two of the O’Connor children have continued the Stanford tradition. Scott graduated from the University in 1979, and Jay is presently enrolled as a sophomore. In their private lives, the O’Connors have exhibited the same commitment to perfection that typifies their public activities.
O’Connor is survived by her three sons, Scott O’Connor, BS ’79, Brian O’Connor, and Jay O’Connor, AB ’84; six grandchildren; and her brother and co-author, Alan Day, Sr. Her husband, John O’Connor, preceded her in death in 2009 and her sister, Ann Day, a former Arizona state senator, died in 2016.
Spouse: John Jay O'Connor III (1930-2009, married 1952) Children: Scott O'Connor (1957- ), Brian O'Connor (1960- ), Jay O'Connor (1962- ) Nominated to Supreme Court by: President Ronald Reagan; Sworn in: September 25, 1981; Supreme Court service: 1981-2006; Died: December 1, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona
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Dec 1, 2023 · The pair had three sons: Scott, born in 1958; Brian, born in 1960; and Jay, born in 1962. In December 2018, Sandra's three sons chatted with AZ Central and shed light on their experiences growing up with the first female Supreme Court Justice as their mother.
