Haley Stevens: “I have come to the floor to make comments concerning our good friend, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. It has…”

“I have come to the floor to make comments concerning our good friend, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. It has been Catherine's and my honor to have become very close to the O'Connors. I want to tell the Senate that I think Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is one of the most extraordinary and gracious women I have ever known. She has come to Alaska often. What most people don't know is she is a very fine fisher person. I think one of the most interesting letters I ever received in my life was the letter I received from Sandra Day after she had gone fishing to a remote fishing lodge in Alaska. She was the only woman there at the time. She fished through some rainy periods and sunny periods and gave a general description of the joy she had being able to have the time to fish and to think as she did that. It was a real joy to read that letter. I also asked Sandra Day O'Connor to come to Alaska and speak--she has been there many times--at the Anchorage Library. She gave a stirring address to mainly young women who were part of the Alaska State Bar Association. That evening, we had a dinner for Justice O'Connor, and her husband John asked for the privilege of introducing her. I want to tell the Senate that I think that was probably the most moving tribute I ever heard a husband deliver for his wife in my life. Her husband John is a fine lawyer and a devoted husband.…”