Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court bench, passed away Friday morning at age 93. It was announced that Sandra Day O’Connor had dementia in 2018. The cause of death was related to advanced dementia, Alzheimer’s, and respiratory illness.

President Ronald Reagan swore in O’Connor on September 25th, 1981. She was very ambitious, according to many people who have worked with her, and she was seen as a role model for her gender. She was a Pragmatic Centrist, meaning she rejected ideology and embraced partisanship. She was not seen as an ideological judge and was very practical.

She was seen as a feminist, as she never sacrificed her role as a wife and mother during her career. Because of this, O’Connor was cautious in handling cases regarding women and children. She upheld abortion restrictions early on in her career as well as delivering a win for Pro-Choice supporters in the case Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

When she retired, she created Icivics, a civics educational program that teaches young people about civics in an interactive game fashion. O’Connor was seen as a pioneer since she was the first Supreme Court justice and even educated millions of kids about the importance of civics.

Perhaps her most significant achievement was defying the odds and becoming the first female Supreme Court Justice, setting a precedent for more women like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Amy Coney Barret, and Katanji Brown Jackson.