Justice Joyce Kennard has announced her retirement from the California Supreme Court effective April 5, on which she will mark the 25th anniversary of her appointment. The article at the San Francisco Chronicle gives people a glimpse into Justice Kennard’s drive and perseverence:
Kennard was born in the East Indies and, as a child, was held along with her mother in a refugee camp in Java during World War II. They moved to the Netherlands after the war, and as a teenager Kennard had a leg amputated above the knee after developing a tumor.
She came to the United States in 1961, found work as a secretary, and put herself through college and law school. After a stint in the state attorney general’s office, she was named to a Municipal Court in Los Angeles by Gov. George Deukmejian in 1986. Three years later, he named her to the state’s high court.
Her official bio is here.
Given that Justice Kennard cited her desire to get back to “long-neglected friends” after years of seven-day workweeks, and that her retirement letter ended on a poetic note, the fond farewell I learned at the Naval Academy seems appropriate, regardless of whether she is sailor: May you have fair winds and following seas, Justice Kennard.