John J. O'Connor, the husband of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, has died at 79. The former attorney had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1990, but made headlines two years ago when it was revealed he had a girlfriend at the assisted living home where he was living out his days-- and that his wife was okay with it.
O'Connor's son revealed he'd struck up a romance with a woman who is a fellow Alzheimer's patient. He also said his mother the retired justice wasn't jealous about the relationship, and was pleased that her husband was comfortable.
One of the people who ran the center in Phoenix said that people with Alzheimer's need intimacy and sometimes developed romantic attachments with fellow patients.
Sandra and John O'Connor first made tabloid history in 1985 at The Washington Press Club's Salute to Congress dinner, when Washington Redskins running back John Riggins, who was seated next to the Justice and drunk out of his mind, said to her: "Come on Sandy, baby, loosen up. You're too tight." Then he knelt beside John O'Connor, put his hand on his shoulder-- and fell to the floor, asleep.
