 Several justices have become widowers while on the bench . The 1792 death of Elizabeth Rutledge , wife of Justice John Rutledge , contributed to the mental health problems that led to the rejection of his recess appointment . Roger B. Taney survived his wife , Anne , by twenty years . Oliver Wendell Holmes , Jr. resolutely continued working on the Court for several years after the death of his wife . William Rehnquist was a widower for the last fourteen years of his service on the Court , his wife Natalie having died on October 17 , 1991 after suffering from ovarian cancer . With the death of Martin D. Ginsburg in June 2010 , Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the first woman to be widowed while serving on the Court . 
