Mary Coon Walters
Birth nameMary Coon
Born(1922-01-29)January 29, 1922
Baraga, Michigan
DiedApril 4, 2001(2001-04-04) (aged 79)
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchWomen Airforce Service Pilots
Other workfirst female New Mexico Supreme Court justice

Mary Coon Walters (January 29, 1922 – April 4, 2001) was the first female New Mexico Supreme Court justice, the first woman in New Mexico to be a district judge, and the first president of the New Mexico Women's Political Caucus.

Early life and military career

Mary Coon Walters was born Mary Coon in Baraga, Michigan on January 29, 1922. In 1942, at the age of 20, she joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots.[1][2] She was assigned to Hondo Army Air Field, flying a C-45 Expeditor as a transport pilot.[3] Walters fought in the Korean War before leaving the military in 1955.[4]

Later life

As specified in the G.I. Bill, Walters gained entry into the University of New Mexico School of Law, and was admitted to the bar the same year that she graduated in 1962. Walters served as a delegate to the 1969 New Mexico Constitutional Convention.[5] In 1972, Bruce King appointed Walters as the a Probate Judge in Albuquerque, New Mexico, making Walters the first woman in New Mexico to be a district judge. Walters became the first woman on the New Mexico Supreme Court when Toney Anaya appointed her to a term that began on December 13, 1984, and she was re-elected to a term that began on January 1, 1984.[6][7][8][9] She was also the first president of the New Mexico Women's Political Caucus.[1] She was in the first group of women inducted into the New Mexico Women's Hall of Fame in 1986.[4]

Death and legacy

Walters died on April 4, 2001. A historical marker recognizing her contributions was erected at the intersection of Tucker Avenue NE and Yale Boulevard NE, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[6][7][8] In 2007, the New Mexico Supreme Court made her an honorary Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court and ordered her portrait be displayed in the New Mexico Supreme Court Building inside the Hall of Chief Justices.[10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Mary Coon Walters New Mexico J ..." Washington Post. 2001-04-12. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  2. ↑ "Meet all 38 of Michigan's original World War II fly girls".
  3. ↑ Pike, David (2015-08-01). Roadside New Mexico: A Guide to Historic Markers, Revised and Expanded Edition. UNM Press. ISBN 978-0-8263-5570-6.
  4. 1 2 "Walters' Zest for Life, Justice Inspired Many". Albuquerque Journal. April 9, 2001.
  5. ↑ "Albuquerque Journal Obituaries". obits.abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  6. 1 2 Pike, David (2015-08-01). Roadside New Mexico: A Guide to Historic Markers, Revised and Expanded Edition. UNM Press. ISBN 9780826355706.
  7. 1 2 Weatherford, Doris (2012-01-20). Women in American Politics: History and Milestones. SAGE. ISBN 9781608710072.
  8. 1 2 "The Honorable Mary Coon Walters / Chief Justice Pamela B. Minzner Historical Marker". The Historical Marker database. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  9. ↑ The American Bench: Judges of the Nation. Reginald Bishop Forster & Associates. 1987. ISBN 978-0-931398-15-5.
  10. ↑ Chavez, Edward L. (2009). "Pamela B. Minzner: From Professional Promise to New Mexico's Iconic Leader in Professionalism". New Mexico Law Review. 39 (1): 14. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
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