Supreme Court Justice and liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg died last Friday at her home in Washington, where she was surrounded by her family, the court announced. The 87-year-old passed away due to “complications of metastatic pancreas cancer.”
“Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said of his colleague in a statement. “We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her—a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”
While the death of RBG comes as a shock to the public, she knew that she was in poor health, as prior to her passing told her granddaughter Clara Spera: "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."
Funeral details
On Monday, it was announced that Ginsburg would lie in repose at the Supreme Court on Wednesday and Thursday. Her casket arrived at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday after which her family and friends gathered for a private ceremony.
Watch that ceremony here:
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has also announced that RBG will lie in state on Friday in the National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol, becoming the first woman in U.S. history and the first Jewish citizen to do so.
Watch that memorial service live here:
Later, a private interment service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery.
Additionally, the Supreme Court is paying tribute to Ginsburg by draping a black wool crepe on her chair and the bench in front of it. According to NPR, "It's a tradition that dates back to 1873 after the death of Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase."
As the digital director for Town & Country, Caroline Hallemann covers culture, entertainment, and a range of other subjects
