Former MS Supreme Court Justice Kay Cobb, second woman to serve on Court, dies at 81

Retired Mississippi Supreme Court Presiding Justice Kay Cobb died Friday at the age of 81 at her home in Lenoir City, Tennessee.

Characterized in a news release from the state administrative office of courts as a "trailblazer for women in the legal profession," Cobb was the second woman to serve on the Mississippi Supreme Court, serving from 1999 until 2007.

“I was always so proud of her because she paved the way for the rest of us. She set a tremendous example for other women to follow," Vicki Cobb Daniels, a chancery judge of Batesville and Cobb's sister-in-law, said in the release.

Former Gov. Kirk Fordice appointed Justice Cobb to the Supreme Court on April 1, 1999. She was elected in 2000 to a full term. She served for eight years, retiring on May 1, 2007. She was chair of the Supreme Court Human Resources and Computer committees. She was the court's liaison to the Gender Fairness Advisory Study Committee and the Commission to Address Concerns for Impaired Lawyers.

Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. of Jackson was a law school classmate of Cobb and a colleague on the court.

"She was fearlessly independent. I have always been impressed with her determination and work ethic, exemplified by her entering law school with two young daughters at home," Waller said in the release. “I don't think anyone worked harder in the pursuit of the correct result for her cases. Her conduct always demonstrated moral and character strength and the best interests of the Judiciary.”

Cobb authored 211 majority opinions during her eight years on the Supreme Court.

Her first elected office was in the Mississippi Senate. She served as senator for District 9, representing Calhoun, Lafayette and Yalobusha counties, from January 1992 to January 1996.

Cobb was born Feb. 28, 1942, in Quitman County. She grew up on a farm in Cleveland and was valedictorian of her Cleveland High School graduating class.

She was class president at Mississippi University for Women, where she graduated in 1963. She taught elementary school for three years to children of military personnel while her husband, Larry Cobb, was stationed with the U.S. Air Force in Japan. She spent five years as a job placement counselor for the Texas Employment Commission, where she assisted people with physical handicaps and people recently released from prison in efforts to find employment.

In 1975, she and her family moved to Oxford, where she enrolled in the University of Mississippi School of Law. She earned a law degree in 1978 and practiced law in Oxford until November 1982, when she became Director of Prosecutor Programs at the Mississippi Prosecutors College at the University of Mississippi School of Law.

She served as senior attorney for the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics from December 1984 to June 1988. She became a special assistant attorney general and established a North Mississippi regional office in 1988. She served as state coordinator for the Statewide Education, Enforcement and Prevention System program, where she was responsible for community mobilization in drug education and prevention efforts. She also served on the President's Commission on Model State Drug Laws and the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws.

Cobb received the Mississippi University for Women Medal of Excellence in 1990 and the Mississippi State University Outstanding Mississippi Woman Award in 1992.

A memorial service will be held later, according to the release, but a date has not yet been announced.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Retired MS Supreme Court Presiding Justice Kay Cobb died Friday at 81