O'Connor was appointed to the Supreme Court by Reagan. She was the first woman on the high court.

Years ago, Reagan asked her to read at his state funeral, and today, she obliged.

For the reading, Reagan had chosen Pilgrim leader John Winthrop's 1630 sermon that inspired his own description of America as a shining "city upon a hill."

The sermon said people must rejoice and delight in one another, but also mourn, labor and suffer together in order to remain strong.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)