Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Passes Away

Monday, December 21st, 2020 -- 9:13 AM

(WBAY) The first woman to ever serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, as well as the first woman to serve as chief justice, has died.

The son of former Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel his mother has died at the age of 87.  Abrahamson died Saturday after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Long recognized as a top legal scholar nationally and a leader among state judges, Abrahamson wrote more than 450 majority opinions and participated in more than 3,500 written decisions during her more than four decades on Wisconsin’s highest court.

Abrahamson was born in 1933. She was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by former Wisconsin Governor Patrick Lucey in 1976, and was at that time the only woman to serve on the court.

Three years later, she was elected to the court, and was re-elected in 1989, 1999, and 2009. She served as the court’s Chief Justice from August 1, 1996 until April 30th, 2015. She eventually retired in 2019, after serving 43 years on the court.

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