Retired Justice Catherine England Dies

A funeral service is scheduled Tuesday for Catherine T. England, a pioneering judge in Suffolk County. She died Thursday and was 97 years old.

She was the first woman to sit on the bench of the State Supreme Court and the Family Court in Suffolk County, according to the publication The Suffolk Lawyer; she was also the first woman to serve as president of the Suffolk County Bar Association.

Born Sept. 13, 1915, England was a resident of Cold Spring Harbor.

Sarah Jane LaCova, executive director of the bar association, wrote that the former judge  "was a splendid woman of great intellect and a big heart. She was a champion of civil liberties and trailblazer. She was the first woman president elected to the Suffolk County Bar Association (1983-84) and the first woman to hold countywide judicial office; appointment to the Supreme Court Bench and the Family Court Bench. I had the privilege of working for her and she was the personification of all that is good and noble in the legal profession. I truly loved her - the Honorable Catherine T. England - a true Champion!"

She and two other women were honored in March 2012 for their contributions to the legal profession.

Visitation is scheduled for Sunday and Monday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at M. A. Connell Funeral Home Inc., Huntington Station.

The funeral is planned for Tuesday, 9:45 a.m., at Huntington.