Sandra Day O’Connor says she has dementia

WASHINGTON – Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman ever to serve on the high court, announced Tuesday that she is in the early stages of what is likely Alzheimer’s disease. O’Connor, 88, was President Ronald Reagan’s first high court nominee. She served from 1981 to 2006 and was a key swing vote, often bridging the gap between conservative and liberal justices. Her retirement while still in good health at age 75 was rare for Supreme Court justices, but she did it to care for her husband, John, who had advanced Alzheimer’s at the time. He died in 2009. In a letter addressed to “friends and fellow Americans,” she said: “As this condition has progressed, I am no longer able to participate in public life . ... I want to be open about these changes, and while I am still able, share some personal thoughts.” She said she would continue living in Phoenix, surrounded by family and friends. “Nothing has diminished my gratitude and deep appreciation for the countless blessings in my life,” she said. “How fortunate I feel to be an American. ... As a young cowgirl from the Arizona desert, I never could have imagined that one day I would become the first woman justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.” During much of her time on the court, O’Connor was the key swing vote – a role later assumed by Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired in July at 81. He has since been succeeded by Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, 53, a more reliable conservative, who was confirmed this month. After retiring from the court, O’Connor was chancellor of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. In 2009, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.