Eleanor Ann Day
Eleanor Ann Day was born August 10, 1938, in El Paso, Texas and died May 7, 2016 as the result of injuries suffered in a traffic accident.
Day was a longtime public official, serving as Pima County Supervisor from 2000 to 2012. She was elected to the Arizona State Senate for 10 years where she served as the Majority Whip and Chair of the Senate Health Committee. Her work in the Senate included involvement in HMO reform and creation of Arizona's Patient's Bill of Rights.
She received her B.A. in Education from ASU in 1970 and her M.Ed. in counseling and guidance from the U of A in 1972. She served on the Pima County Conciliation Court from 1972 to 1982. She was a lifelong member of the Republican Party and was the first woman to be appointed to serve on the State Industrial Commission. She also served on the State Liquor Board.
In the 1970s, she taught in Phoenix's Alhambra School District and was a substitute teacher in the Tucson Unified School District. She served on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood of Arizona and the Girls Club of Tucson. She served on the Governor's Task Force on Marriage and the Family. She was a sustaining member of the Junior League of Tucson and was recently named one of the 48 most influential women in Arizona history.
The daughter of a pioneering ranching family, Day grew up on the Lazy B Ranch in eastern Arizona. The working cattle ranch was started by her grandfather, HC Day in 1880 and was in her family for 114 years. Day served on the board of directors of the Lazy B, and worked as a cowgirl on the ranch throughout the early years of her life.
She is survived by her brother, Alan Day; sister, Sandra Day O'Connor; son and daughter-in-law, Barry and Kim Simpson of Cottonwood, Arizona; son, Curtis Simpson, of Tucson; daughter and son-in-law, Jill and Adam Watters, Tucson; grandchildren, Caitlin Watters, Courtland Watters, Cassandra Watters, Matt Simpson, and Shiloh Patton; nephews, Scott O'Connor, Jay O'Connor, Brian O'Connor and Hollis Alan Day; niece, Marina Day.